Partial general elections were held in Suriname in March 1880 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.[1] Elected members served six-year terms, with three members elected every two years. The 1880 elections were to replace the three members elected in 1874, Johannes Cateau van Rosevelt, A.J. van Emden [nl] and B.E. Colaço Belmonte [nl], although Colaço Belmonte had resigned in 1878.
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 71 valid ballots cast, candidates required 36 votes to be elected in the first round. Incumbents van Emden, van Rosevelt and van Lier were easily re-elected.
