General elections were held in British Guiana on 12 August 1957.[1] The result was a victory for the faction of the People's Progressive Party led by Cheddi Jagan, who remained Prime Minister.[2]
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14 seats in the Legislative Council 8 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 212,518 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 55.79% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Campaign edit
A total of 55 candidates contested the elections, including six independents. The National Labour Front was the only party to run a candidate in every Legislative Council seat, with the two factions of the PPP both contesting 13 seats. The United Democratic Party (UDP) contested eight seats and the Guiana National Party one.[3]
Results edit
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's Progressive Party (Jaganite) | 55,552 | 47.51 | 9 | – | |
| People's Progressive Party (Burnhamite) | 29,802 | 25.49 | 3 | – | |
| National Labour Front | 13,465 | 11.51 | 1 | New | |
| United Democratic Party | 9,564 | 8.18 | 1 | New | |
| Guiana National Party | 199 | 0.17 | 0 | New | |
| Independents | 8,357 | 7.15 | 0 | –4 | |
| Total | 116,939 | 100.00 | 14 | –10 | |
| Valid votes | 116,939 | 98.63 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,625 | 1.37 | |||
| Total votes | 118,564 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 212,518 | 55.79 | |||
| Source: GECOM | |||||
Elected members edit
| Constituency | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berbice River | Ajodha Singh | People's Progressive Party (Jagan) | |
| Central Demerara | Balram Singh Rai | People's Progressive Party (Jagan) | |
| Demerara-Essequibo | Ram Karran | People's Progressive Party (Jagan) | |
| Demerara River | Fred Bowman | People's Progressive Party (Jagan) | |
| Eastern Berbice | Cheddi Jagan | People's Progressive Party (Jagan) | |
| Eastern Demerara | Edward Balkaran Beharry | People's Progressive Party (Jagan) | |
| Essequibo River | Brindley Benn | People's Progressive Party (Jagan) | |
| Georgetown Central | Forbes Burnham | People's Progressive Party (Burnham) | |
| Georgetown North | Andrew Leonard Jackson | People's Progressive Party (Burnham) | |
| Georgetown South | Jainarine Singh | People's Progressive Party (Burnham) | |
| New Amsterdam | Rudy Kendall | United Democratic Party | |
| North Western District | Stephen Campbell | National Labour Front | |
| Western Berbice | Sheik Mohamed Saffee | People's Progressive Party (Jagan) | |
| Western Essequibo | Janet Jagan | People's Progressive Party (Jagan) | |
| Source: Parliament of Guyana | |||
Aftermath edit
After the elections, the Burnhamite faction of the PPP merged with the UDP to form the People's National Congress.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p354 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
- ^ "The British Declassified Files on British Guiana - 1958-1964".
- ^ 1957 Elections Archived 2015-06-22 at the Wayback Machine GECOM