The Legislative Assembly was the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

of the Legislature in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

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.Historical information events and dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006
Parliament of Guyana 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. 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 Rahman Bacchus Gajraj, CBE (11 May 1910 – 23 February 2004) was a Guyanese politician and lawyer. He served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana from 1961 to 1964 and 1968 to 1971. He also served as Lord Mayor of Georgetown, Guyana an ...

as Speaker. 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. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p355 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.

List of members

References

{{reflist British Guiana Defunct lower houses 1961 establishments in British Guiana 1964 disestablishments in British Guiana