Elections in Guyana

Elections in Guyana take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a semi-presidential system. The National Assembly is directly elected, with the nominee of the party or alliance that receives the most votes becoming President.

Elections were first held in what would become Guyana in the 18th century, at a time when the colonies of Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo were under Dutch control. A Court of Policy was established in 1732, which initially consisted of the Governor, five appointed officials (including the Fiscal Officer and the Vendor Master) and five colonists chosen by the Governor from a list of nominees submitted by the College of Keizers, an electoral college consisting of Dutch planters. Sitting together, the Court of Policy and the College of Keizers formed the Combined Court.

After the British took control of Guiana in 1803, the College of Keizers was abolished, and its duties were given to the Financial Representatives, who were elected by the public in six constituencies, although with a severely limited franchise. The Court of Policy and Financial Representatives continued to form the Combined Court. The College of Keizers was re-established in the 1830s, with its members elected for life by planters. When a vacancy arose in the Court of Policy, the College would nominate two candidates, who the remaining members of the Court of Policy would hold a vote on.

Constitutional reforms in 1891 led to the abolishment of the College of Keizers for a second time and the introduction of direct elections to the Court of Policy, with eight members elected from seven constituencies, in addition to the continued direct election of the six Financial Representatives, giving equal numbers of appointed and elected members in the Combined Court. Elections were held under this system in 1892, 1897, 1901, 1906, 1911, 1916, 1921 and 1926. However, the franchise remained severely limited, with only 11,103 people registered to vote from a population of 317,026 (3.5%) by the time of the 1926 elections; the figure had been just 1.1% for the 1921 elections.

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