| Country: | British Guiana |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 1947 British Guiana general election |
| Previous Year: | 1947 |
| Next Election: | 1957 British Guiana general election |
| Next Year: | 1957 |
| Majority Seats: | 15 |
| Election Date: | 27 April 1953 |
| Turnout: | 74.77% |
| Image1: | Cheddi Jagan Anefo.jpg |
| Leader1: | Cheddi Jagan |
| Leader Since1: | 1 January 1950 |
| Party1: | People's Progressive Party (Guyana) |
| Seats1: | 18 |
| Popular Vote1: | 77,695 |
| Leaders Seat1: | Corentyne Coast |
| Percentage1: | 51.04% |
| Leader2: | Rudy Kendall |
| Leader Since2: | 1953 |
| Colour2: | FFD700 |
| Party2: | NDP |
| Seats2: | 2 |
| Popular Vote2: | 20,032 |
| Leaders Seat2: | New Amsterdam |
| Percentage2: | 13.16% |
| Chief Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Elected Chief Minister |
| Before Election: | None |
| After Election: | Cheddi Jagan |
| After Party: | PPP |
General elections were held in British Guiana on 27 April 1953.[1] They were the first held under universal suffrage and resulted in a victory for the People's Progressive Party (PPP), which won 18 of the 24 seats in the new House of Assembly. Its leader, Cheddi Jagan, became Prime Minister.[1]
Constitutional reforms as a result of the Waddington Commission had led to the creation of the House of Assembly to replace the Legislative Council. The new House had 28 members; 24 members elected in single member constituencies, a speaker appointed by the Governor and three ex officio members (the Chief Secretary, the Attorney General and the Financial Secretary).[2]
The PPP ran candidates in 22 of the 24 constituencies, failing to contest the two interior constituencies due to a lack of money. The National Democratic Party contested 15 constituencies and the People's National Party eight. A total of 85 independents,[3] including four United Guiana Party candidates, also contested the elections.[4] The United Workers and Farmers Party did run as a party, but contested some seats as independents.[4]
| Constituency | Member | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – North West | William Alfred Phang | Independent | ||
| 2 – Pomeroon | Thomas Sherwood Wheating | Independent | ||
| 3 – Western Essequibo | Janet Jagan | People's Progressive Party | Deputy Speaker | |
| 4 – Essequibo Islands | Theophilus Lee | Independent | ||
| 5 – Bartica and Interior | Eugene Francis Correia | National Democratic Party | ||
| 6 – Demerara-Essequibo | Fred Bowman | People's Progressive Party | ||
| 7 – West Bank Demerara | Jai Narine Singh | People's Progressive Party | Minister of Local Government and Social Welfare | |
| 8 – East Bank Demerara | Joseph Prayag Lachhmansingh | People's Progressive Party | Minister of Health and Housing | |
| 9 – Upper Demerara River | Charles Albert Carter | Independent | ||
| 10 – Georgetown South | Ashton Chase | People's Progressive Party | Minister of Labour, Industry and Commerce | |
| Clinton Reginald Wong | People's Progressive Party | |||
| 12 – Georgetown Central | Jessie Burnham | People's Progressive Party | ||
| 13 – Georgetown North | Frank Obermuller van Sertima | People's Progressive Party | ||
| 14 – Georgetown North-East | Forbes Burnham | People's Progressive Party | Minister of Education | |
| 15 – West Central Demerara | Ram Karran | People's Progressive Party | ||
| 16 – Central Demerara | Sydney Evanson King | People's Progressive Party | Minister of Communications and Works | |
| 17 – East Central Demerara | Jane Phillips-Gay | People's Progressive Party | ||
| 18 – Mahaica-Mahaicony | Chandra Sama Persaud | People's Progressive Party | ||
| 19 – Western Berbice | ||||
| 20 – New Amsterdam | Rudy Kendall | National Democratic Party | ||
| 21 – Berbice River | Ajodha Singh | People's Progressive Party | ||
| 22 – Eastern Berbice | Robert Stanley Hanoman Singh | People's Progressive Party | ||
| 23 – Corentyne Coast | Cheddi Jagan | People's Progressive Party | Leader of the House and Minister of Agriculture, Forests, Lands and Mines | |
| 24 – Corentyne River | Mohamed Khan | People's Progressive Party |
After assuming power Jagan embarked on implementing a series of policies that involved radical social reform, mainly directed at the colonial oligarchy. The British colonial authorities sent in troops in response to the alleged threat of a Marxist revolution. Governor Alfred Savage suspended the constitution in October (only 133 days after it had come into force) and set up a transitional government of conservative politicians, businessmen and civil servants.[1] Writing in The Guardian in 2020, Gaiutra Bahadur said that "the overthrow of Guyana’s ruling party by colonial forces fomented a racial divide that continues to blight its politics", saying that there was a greater crackdown on the Afro-Guyanese than on the Indo-Guyanese, in a deliberate and successful attempt to divide the PPP.[5]