British Honduras general election, 1961

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British Honduras general election, 1961
Flag of British Honduras (1919-1981).svg
  1957 26 March 1961 1965  

All 18 seats in the British Honduras Legislative Assembly (including 9 new seats)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  George C. Price Cropped.jpg
NIP
CDP
Leader George Cadle Price Herbert Fuller Denbeigh Jeffery
Party PUP NIP CDP
Leader since195619581960
Leader's seatBelize North
candidate in Freetown
candidate in Fort George Belize South [1]
candidate in Fort George
Last election9 seats(new party)(new party)
Seats won1800
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 9Steady2.svgSteady2.svg
Popular vote13,9755,1072,514
Percentage64.67%23.6311.63
SwingIncrease2.svg 3.35Increase2.svg 23.63Increase2.svg 11.63

First Minister before election

George Cadle Price
PUP

Elected First Minister

George Cadle Price
PUP

Coat of arms of Belize.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Belize

General elections were held in British Honduras on 26 March 1961. They were the first following a constitutional review, which had increased the number of elected seats from 9 to 18, whilst a further five members would be appointed by the Governor and two would be officials. [2] The result was a victory for the ruling People's United Party, which won all 18 seats. [3]

British Honduras UK possession in Central America between 1862 and 1981

British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1862 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973, until September 1981, when it gained full independence as Belize. British Honduras was the last continental possession of the United Kingdom in the Americas.

Peoples United Party Belizean political party

The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the main opposition party with 12 of 31 seats in the House of Representatives. It is a centre-left Christian democratic party. The party leader is Johnny Briceño, who currently serves as Belize's Leader of the Opposition.

The National Independence Party, founded in 1958 by a merger of the two previous major opposition parties, the Honduran Independence Party and the National Party, contested general elections for the first time in 1961. A third party formed by former PUP and NP members, the Christian Democratic Party, also fielded candidates. Both parties failed to win seats.

The National Independence Party of Belize was a merger of two Belizean political parties that effectively served as the chief opposition party in Belize for practically all of its existence. It was formed in July 1958 and dissolved as part of the formation of the new United Democratic Party in 1973.

The Honduran Independence Party was a short-lived 1950s political party that was essentially a splinter group of the People's United Party (PUP).

The National Party of Belize (NP) was a political party established mainly to fight the anti-colonialist movement propagated by the People's United Party (PUP). It had only minimal success and was eventually deregistered.

Results

e    d  Summary of the 26 March 1961 British Honduras Legislative Assembly election results
PartiesVotes%Seats
People's United Party 13,97564.6718
National Independence Party 5,10723.63-
Christian Democratic Party 2,51411.63-
Independents 150.07-
Total valid votes21,611100.0018
Invalid votes422
Total votes cast (turnout: 80.4%)22,033
Registered voters27,414

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References

  1. Jeffery was previously elected as a PUP member.
  2. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p100 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
  3. General Elections 1961, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)