General elections were held in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was ...

on 15 October 1926.

Electoral system

The elections were held under the 1891 constitution, which provided for a 16-member

Court of Policy The Court of Policy was a legislative body in Dutch and British Guiana until 1928. For most of its existence it formed the Combined Court together with the six Financial Representatives. History The Court of Policy was established in 1732 by the ...

, half of which was elected. The Court included the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, seven government officials (the Attorney General, the Government Secretary, the Immigration Agent General and the Receiver General, together with three other appointees). The eight elected members were elected from seven constituencies;Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006
Parliament of Guyana

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state f ...

East, Demerara West, Essequebo North Western, Essequebo South Eastern,

Berbice Berbice is a region along the Berbice River in Guyana, which was between 1627 and 1792 a colony of the Dutch West India Company and between 1792 to 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...

, City of Georgetown (2 members) and

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

.George D Bayley (1909) ''Handbook of British Guiana, 1909: Comprising General and Statistical Information Concerning the Colony'', The Argosy, p158 In addition, six "Financial Representatives" were also elected in six single member constituencies; Demerara, Essequebo North Western, Essequebo South Eastern, Berbice, Georgetown and New Amsterdam. Together with the Court of Policy, the two groups formed the

Combined Court The Combined Court was the legislature of British Guiana until 1928. In its final form, it consisted of a sitting of the Court of Policy together with the elected Financial Representatives. History The Combined Court was established by the Dutch ...

. The franchise was restricted on the basis of a minimum income level, and women could not vote; as a result, only 11,103 people were registered to vote from a population of 317,026 (3.5%).James G Rose (1992
British colonial policy and the transfer of power in British Guiana, 1945-1964
King's College London

Campaign

The Popular Party, which had been formed earlier in the year, was the only party to contest the elections, and campaigned on a platform of economic development. Conservative candidates also criticised the lack of development within the territory.

Results

The People's Party won twelve of the fourteen elected seats.

Aftermath

Following the elections, the results in almost every seat was challenged, resulting in five results being overturned on technicalities.Walter Rodney (1966
Masses in Action
''New World Quarterly'' 2:3, pp30-37

References

{{Guyanese elections Elections in Guyana 20th century in Guyanese politics 1926 in British Guiana

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results

October 1926 events