1961 British Honduras general election

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| <- 1957 | 26 March 1961 | 1965 ->

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All 18 seats in the Legislative Assembly
Turnout| 79.50%
|  | First party  |

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|  |
Leader  | George Cadle Price |
Party  | PUP |
Leader since  | 1956  |
Leader's seat  | Freetown |
Last election  | 9 seats  |
Seats won  | 18 |
Seat change  |  9  |
Popular vote  | 13,975 |
Percentage  | 64.67% |
Swing  |  3.35  |

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Popular vote by constituency. As Belize uses the FPTP electoral system, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each constituency

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| First Minister before election

George Cadle Price
PUP

| Elected First Minister

George Cadle Price
PUP

|

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General elections were held in British Honduras on 26 March 1961. They were the first following a constitutional review, which had increased the number of elected seats from 9 to 18, whilst a further five members would be appointed by the Governor and two would be officials.[1] The result was a victory for the ruling People's United Party, which won all 18 seats.[2]

The National Independence Party, founded in 1958 by a merger of the two previous major opposition parties, the Honduran Independence Party and the National Party, contested general elections for the first time in 1961. A third party formed by former PUP and NP members, the Christian Democratic Party, also fielded candidates. Both parties failed to win seats.

## Results[edit]

Party| Votes| %| Seats| +/–

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| People's United Party| 13,975| 64.67| 18| +9
| National Independence Party| 5,107| 23.63| 0| 0
| Christian Democratic Party| 2,514| 11.63| 0| New
| Independents| 15| 0.07| 0| 0
Total| 21,611| 100.00| 18| +9
Valid votes| 21,611| 98.08|
Invalid/blank votes| 422| 1.92|
Total votes| 22,033| 100.00|
Registered voters/turnout| 27,714| 79.50|
Source: Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission

### By division[edit]

Division  | Electorate  | Turnout  | %  | Political party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %

|
|
|
|
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Albert | 2,424  | 2,058  | 84.9  |  | People's United Party | Frederick Westby |  | 42.8
| Christian Democratic Party | Nicholas Pollard  |  | 37.9
| National Independence Party | Floss Casasola  |  | 18.7
Belize Rural North | 1,406  | 1,041  | 74.0  |  | People's United Party | Fred Hunter |  | 62.2
| Christian Democratic Party | Arthur Wade  |  | 25.4
| National Independence Party | Marcelo Casasola  |  | 10.3
Belize Rural South | 1,052  | 781  | 74.2  |  | People's United Party | Louis Sylvestre |  | 81.3
| National Independence Party | Todd Brown  |  | 15.6
Cayo North | 1,292  | 1,042  | 80.7  |  | People's United Party | Hector Silva |  | 70.5
| National Independence Party | Manuel Figueroa  |  | 27.0
Cayo South | 1,174  | 962  | 81.9  |  | People's United Party | Santiago Perdomo |  | 61.3
| Christian Democratic Party | Eduardo Espat  |  | 30.0
| National Independence Party | Pedro Mena  |  | 5.8
Collet | 2,706  | 2,168  | 80.1  |  | People's United Party | Albert Cattouse |  | 44.6
| National Independence Party | Edward Flowers  |  | 43.9
| Christian Democratic Party | Mervin Hulse  |  | 9.3
Corozal North | 1,473  | 1,141  | 77.5  |  | People's United Party | Santiago Ricalde |  | 79.9
| National Independence Party | Gualberto Martinez  |  | 18.1
Corozal South  | 1,480  | 956  | 64.6  |  | People's United Party | Jesus Ken |  | 85.7
| National Independence Party | Victor Greenwood  |  | 10.5
Fort George | 1,422  | 1,225  | 86.1  |  | People's United Party | Alexander Hunter |  | 60.2
| National Independence Party | Herbert Fuller  |  | 28.5
| Christian Democratic Party | Denbigh Jeffery  |  | 10.8
Freetown | 1,850  | 1,625  | 87.8  |  | People's United Party | George Cadle Price |  | 67.1
| National Independence Party | Sabino Savery  |  | 24.8
| Christian Democratic Party | Erenst Cain  |  | 7.6
Mesopotamia | 2,501  | 1,993  | 79.7  |  | People's United Party | C. L. B. Rogers |  | 62.4
| National Independence Party | Erlean Casasola  |  | 28.4
| Christian Democratic Party | Edward Usher  |  | 8.6
Orange Walk North | 1,377  | 1,089  | 79.1  |  | People's United Party | Victor Orellana |  | 57.6
| National Independence Party | Eloy Escalante  |  | 40.7
Orange Walk South | 926  | 680  | 73.4  |  | People's United Party | Guadalupe Pech |  | 81.4
| National Independence Party | Ignacio Vega  |  | 14.4
Pickstock | 1,680  | 1,418  | 84.4  |  | People's United Party | Gwendolyn Lizarraga |  | 68.6
| National Independence Party | Jaime Staines  |  | 16.3
| Christian Democratic Party | Clare Gill  |  | 13.3
| Independent  | Robert Taylor  |  | 0.7
| Independent  | James Ysaguirre  |  | 0.4
Stann Creek Rural  | 1,856  | 1,343  | 72.4  |  | People's United Party | David McKoy |  | 72.3
| National Independence Party | Harry Stanley  |  | 23.7
Stann Creek Town  | 1,816  | 1,493  | 82.2  |  | People's United Party | Allan Arthurs |  | 52.3
| National Independence Party | Paul Guerrero  |  | 44.2
Toledo North  | 547  | 374  | 68.4  |  | People's United Party | Faustino Zuniga  |  | 55.6
| National Independence Party | Charles Westby  |  | 42.2
Toledo South  | 941  | 732  | 77.8  |  | People's United Party | Sam Vernon  |  | 48.0
| National Independence Party | Francis Martinez  |  | 39.5
| Christian Democratic Party | Alan Woodeye  |  | 11.5

## References[edit]

1. ^ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p100 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
2. ^ General Elections 1961[permanent dead link], Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)

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