General elections were held in Guyana on 16 December 1968.[1] The result was a victory for the People's National Congress, which won 30 of the 53 seats, although the PNC's victory was the result of fraud as the government had direct control of the elections.[2] Voter turnout was 85.1%.[1]
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53 seats in the National Assembly 27 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 369,088 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 85.14% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Election fraud
editThe electoral fraud of Forbes Burnham was the subject of two documentaries produced by Granada Television, The Trail of the Vanishing Voters which aired on 9 December 1968,[3] and The Making of a Prime Minister which appeared in January 1969.[4][5] The documentaries featured the main opposition figures, Cheddi Jagan and Peter D'Aguiar.
Results
edit| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's National Congress | 174,339 | 55.81 | 30 | +8 | |
| People's Progressive Party | 113,991 | 36.49 | 19 | –5 | |
| United Force | 23,162 | 7.41 | 4 | –3 | |
| Guiana United Muslim Party | 899 | 0.29 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 312,391 | 100.00 | 53 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 312,391 | 99.41 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,855 | 0.59 | |||
| Total votes | 314,246 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 369,088 | 85.14 | |||
| Source: Nohlen | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p363 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
- ^ Nohlen, p355-359
- ^ Granada Television (9 December 1968). "The Trail of the Vanishing Voters". YouTube.
- ^ Granada Television (January 1969). "The Making of a Prime Minister". YouTube.
- ^ Rabe, Stephen G. (2005). U.S. Intervention in British Guiana: A Cold War Story. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 158. ISBN 0-8078-5639-8.