1997 Guyanese general election

General elections were held in Guyana on 15 December 1997.[1] The result was a victory for the People's Progressive Party/Civic, which won 29 of the 53 seats. Voter turnout was 88.4%.[1]

1997 Guyanese general election

← 1992 15 December 1997 2001 →

53 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly
33 seats needed for a majority
Registered461,481
Turnout88.42%
  First party Second party
 
Candidate Janet Jagan Desmond Hoyte
Party PPP/C PNC
Seats won 34 26
Seat change Increase2 Decrease5
Popular vote 220,667 161,901
Percentage 55.26% 40.55%
Swing Decrease1.81pp Decrease1.76pp

Results by district

President before election

Sam Hinds
PPP/C

Elected President

Janet Jagan
PPP/C

Electoral system

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The National Assembly had 65 members; 53 elected by proportional representation in a nationwide constituency, 10 appointed by the Regional Councils elected on the same date as the national members, and 2 appointed by the National Congress of Local Democratic Organs, an umbrella body representing the regional councils.[2] These were the last elections to feature that electoral system, as the electoral law was amended in February 2001 ahead of the elections in March that year.[3]

The President was elected by a first-past-the-post double simultaneous vote system, whereby each list nominated a presidential candidate and the presidential election itself was won by the candidate of the list having a plurality.[2]

Results

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PartyPresidential
candidate
Votes%Seats
ElectedAppointeesTotal+/–
People's Progressive Party/CivicJanet Jagan220,66755.2629534+2
People's National CongressDesmond Hoyte161,90140.5522426–5
United ForceManzoor Nadir5,9371.491010
Working People's AllianceGuyana Labour PartyRupert Roopnarine4,7831.201010
Guyana Democratic PartyAsgar Ally2,5280.63011New
Good and Green GuyanaHamilton Green1,5520.39000New
Justice for All PartyChandra N. Sharma1,2650.32000New
God Bless GuyanaHardatt Persaud3140.08000New
National Independent PartySaphier Husain2580.06000New
National Democratic FrontJoseph Bacchus1050.030000
Independents22+2
Total399,310100.005312650
Valid votes399,31097.86
Invalid/blank votes8,7472.14
Total votes408,057100.00
Registered voters/turnout461,48188.42
Source: Nohlen, IPU, Guyana Elections Commission, OAS

References

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  1. ^ a b Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p363 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  2. ^ a b "Guyana's new Constitution and the elections of 1980: A case of people's power?", Rajendra Chandisingh
  3. ^ IPU Parline