General elections were held in
British Guiana
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...
in 1911.
[Political changes (1891-1917)]
Guyana.org
Electoral system
The elections were held under the 1891 constitution, which provided for a 16-member
Court of Policy, half of which was elected. The Court included the
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
, 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 (; , ) 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 from 1792 unti ...
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 and 1815 a colony of the Dutch state. After having been ceded to the United Kingdom of Great Brita ...
, City of
Georgetown (2 members) and
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, 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 (trading post), fac ...
.
[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 franchise was restricted on the basis of a minimum income level, and women could not vote;][ as a result, only 1.37% of the population were entitled to vote.][Silvius Elgerton Wilson (1997) ''The 1924 workers' incident at Riumveldt British Guiana and the development of Working People's Organisation'' University of Warwick, p183] Although the minimum monthly income level had been reduced from £40 to £25 since the 1906 elections, only 251 of the 126,517 Indo-Guyanese population was on the voter roll, largely due to a lack of command of English.[
]
References
{{Guyanese elections
Elections in Guyana
20th century in Guyanese politics
British Guiana
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...
1911 in British Guiana
Election and referendum articles with incomplete results
British Guiana
British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana.
The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...