General elections were held in Dutch New Guinea for the first and only time in January 1961.
The elections were held following the establishment of the New Guinea Council (Raad) to replace the Council of Directors, which consisted of the heads of government departments.
[2] Voting was open to all Dutch citizens aged 21 and over who had lived in the territory since 1 January 1958.
Members were directly elected in Hollandia and Manokwari, with the other twelve constituencies having a two-stage process where voters elected representatives that subsequently selected the Council members.
[3] Illiterate voters were able to whisper the name of their chosen representative to polling station staff.