Legislative Assembly (British Guiana)
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The Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Legislature in British Guiana between 1961 and 1964.
History
A new constitution was promulgated on 18 July 1961, replacing the unicameral Legislative Council with the Legislature. The new body consisted of a 13-member Senate and a 36-member Legislative Assembly.[1] Whilst the 13 members of the Senate were nominated, the Legislative Assembly was elected, and consisted of 35 members elected in single-member constituencies, and a Speaker elected by the elected MPs.[1]
Elections to the new Legislature were held on 21 August 1961. The People's Progressive Party (PPP) won 20 seats, the People's National Congress (PNC) won 11 and the United Force four. Both houses convened for the first time on 5 October 1961, when members elected Rahman Baccus Gajraj as Speaker.[1]
Although the PPP had only received 1.6% more of the vote than the PNC, it won almost double the number of seats. This resulted in mass demonstrations led by the PNC, a general strike and severe inter-racial violence. A few weeks after the elections the British authorities intervened by sending in troops and the Governor declared a state of emergency.[2]
Further constitutional amendments in 1964 scrapped the Legislature, replacing it with a unicameral House of Assembly elected by proportional representation. The Legislature was dissolved on 25 September 1964.[1]
List of members
People's Progressive Party | People's National Congress | The United Force |
---|---|---|
Cheddi Jagan | Forbes Burnham | Peter d'Aguiar |
Brindley Benn | Rudy Kendall | Stephen Campbell |
Ram Karran | John Carter | Randolph Emanuel Cheeks |
Balram Singh Rai | Eugene Francis Correia | Teddy Melville |
Ranji Chandisingh | Neville James Bissember | |
Charles Ramkissoon Jacob | William Alexander Blair | |
Fenton Harcourt Wilworth Ramsahoye | Rudolph Stanislaus Stanley Hugh | |
Earl Maxwell Gladstone Wilson | John Gabriel Joaquin | |
George Bowman | Robert James Jordan | |
Lawrence Everil McRansford Mann | Claude Alfonso Merriman | |
Sheik Mohamed Saffee | Henry Milton Shakespeare Wharton | |
George Lakey Robertson | ||
Moses Bhagwan | ||
John Bernard Caldeira | ||
Victor Downer | ||
Abdul Maccie Hamid | ||
George McLinton Henry | ||
Derek Chunilall Jagan | ||
Goberdhan Harry Lall | ||
Mohamed Shakoor |