1906 British Guiana general election explained

General elections were held in British Guiana in 1906.[1]

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, 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;[2] Demerara East, Demerara West, Essequebo North Western, Essequebo South Eastern, Berbice, City of Georgetown (2 members) and New Amsterdam.[3]

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.[3] Together with the Court of Policy, the two groups formed the Combined Court.[2]

The franchise was restricted on the basis of a minimum income level, and women could not vote;[2] as a result, only 1.19% of the population were entitled to vote.[4]

Results

Ten of the elected members were pro-reform candidates, including seven who were members of the People's Association.[5]

ConstituencyElected member
Court of Policy
Demerara EastFrancis Dias
Demerara WestAndrew Benjamin Brown
Essequebo North WesternR G Duncan
Essequebo South EasternP N Browne
BerbiceJ P Santos
City of GeorgetownGeorge Garnett
B Howell Jones
New AmsterdamC P Garcia
Financial Representatives
DemeraraJ Wood Davis
Essequebo North WesternAlfred A. Thorne
Essequebo South EasternJ S McArthur
BerbiceS E Wills
GeorgetownA P P Mackey
New AmsterdamS E Wreford
align=left colspan=4Source: Bailey[6]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter80.html Political changes (1891-1917)
  2. http://parliament.gov.gy/GUYANA%20PARLIAMENT%20HISTORY%202009-1.pdf Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006
  3. George D Bayley (1909) Handbook of British Guiana, 1909: Comprising General and Statistical Information Concerning the Colony, The Argosy, p158
  4. Silvius Elgerton Wilson (1997) The 1924 workers' incident at Riumveldt British Guiana and the development of Working People's Organisation University of Warwick, p183
  5. Juanita De Barros (2003) Order and Place in a Colonial City: Patterns of Struggle and Resistance in Georgetown, British Guiana, 1889-1924, McGill-Queen's Press, p25
  6. Bailey, pp280–281