# 1953 British Guiana general election

General elections were held in British Guiana on 27 April 1953. 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.

## Electoral system

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).

## Campaign

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, including four United Guiana Party candidates, also contested the elections. The United Workers and Farmers Party did run as a party, but contested some seats as independents.

## Results

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats |
| | People's Progressive Party | 77,695 | 51.04 | 18 |
| | National Democratic Party | 20,032 | 13.16 | 2 |
| | People's National Party | 3,000 | 1.97 | 0 |
| | Independents | 51,504 | 33.83 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 152,231 | 100.00 | 24 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 152,231 | 97.44 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 3,995 | 2.56 | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 156,226 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 208,939 | 74.77 | |
| Source: GECOM |||||

### Elected members

| 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 |
| 11 – Georgetown South Central | 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 | Samuel Mahabali Latchmansingh | People's Progressive Party | |
| 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 | |

## Aftermath

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. 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.