# 1876 Surinamese general election

Partial general elections were held in Suriname in March 1876 to elect three of the nine elected members of the Colonial States.

## Electoral system

The Colonial States consisted of nine elected members and four appointed by the Governor-General. Elected members served six-year terms, with three members elected every two years. The 1876 elections were to replace the three members elected in 1870, Daniel Benjamins [nl], G.J.A. Bosch Reitz [nl] and N.T.A. Arlaud [nl]. However, none of the three were still members by 1876; Bosch Reitz was replaced by A.J. da Costa [nl] in 1873, Arlaud died in 1874 and was replaced by Henry Barnett [nl], while Benjamins resigned in 1875 and was replaced by Phoebus Hitzerus Verbeek [nl].
The elections were held using the two-round system, with suffrage restricted to men meeting certain criteria. Voters had multiple votes, and any candidate receiving a number of votes equivalent to over 50% of the valid ballots cast was elected in the first round. If not all seats were filled, a second round was held with twice the number of candidates as seats remaining, who were the candidates who received the most votes but failed to be elected in the first round.

## Results

As there were 94 valid ballots cast, candidates required 48 votes to be elected in the first round. All three incumbents were easily re-elected in the first round.
| Candidate | Votes | % | Notes |
| Phoebus Hitzerus Verbeek [nl] | 83 | 88.30 | Re-elected |
| A.J. da Costa [nl] | 73 | 77.66 | Re-elected |
| Henry Barnett [nl] | 72 | 76.60 | Re-elected |
| Alexander Constantijn Wesenhegen | 12 | 12.77 | |
| Salomon Aberdanon Heilbron | 4 | 4.26 | |
| H.S. Schonten | 4 | 4.26 | |
| Cornelis Johannes Heylidy [nl] | 2 | 2.13 | |
| M.A. Smitter | 2 | 2.13 | |
| Charles Busken Huet [nl] | 1 | 1.06 | |
| L.E. du Coral | 1 | 1.06 | |
| H.W.D. Donker Curtius | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Johannis Philippus Haase Jr | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Jan Philippus Albertus Hoeffelman | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Jurriaan Antonie Jurriaanse [nl] | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Willem Johannis Gijsbertus Labad | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Rudolph Hendrik Leijsner | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Jacob Nicolaas Eckhardt de Mesquita | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Jb. Nassij | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Frederick Paul Penard | 1 | 1.06 | |
| B.M. Samson | 1 | 1.06 | |
| E. Sander | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Johannis Sander | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Jacobus Benjamin Pedro Louis Seiler | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Marius Simons | 1 | 1.06 | |
| R.J. Simons | 1 | 1.06 | |
| W.A. Wijnschenk | 1 | 1.06 | |
| Total | 270 | 100.00 | |
| Valid votes | 94 | 95.92 | |
| Invalid votes | 1 | 1.02 | |
| Blank votes | 3 | 3.06 | |
| Total votes | 98 | 100.00 | |
| Source: Koloniaal nieuws ||||

## Aftermath

Governor-General Cornelis Ascanius van Sypesteyn [nl] reappointed G.J.A. Bosch Reitz [nl], Karel Daniel Brakke [nl] and Jacobus de Jong [nl] as nominated members, together with J.F. Saile Vanier [nl].
The newly elected States met for the first time on 11 May 1876, with Bosch Reitz remaining chairman. However, he resigned later in the year and was replaced by Jurriaan Antonie Jurriaanse [nl]. De Jong took over as chairman until he and Jurriaanse resigned from the States in 1877. They were replaced by Joël Benjamin Vos [nl] and Coenraad van Lier, with A.J. van Emden [nl] taking over as chairman.