2011 Guyanese general election

General elections were held in Guyana on 28 November 2011.[1] The result was a victory for the People's Progressive Party/Civic, which won 32 of the 65 seats.[2] Thus even though the combined parliamentary opposition, consisting of the A Partnership for National Unity coalition (APNU) and the Alliance for Change (AFC), managed to secure an absolute majority of 33 seats, as they had not run as a single list it was Donald Ramotar of the PPP/C (the largest single party) who assumed the presidency, and not David A. Granger of the PNCR (which heads the opposition).

2011 Guyanese general election

← 2006 28 November 2011 2015 →

All 65 seats in the National Assembly
33 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Candidate Donald Ramotar David A. Granger Khemraj Ramjattan
Party PPP/C APNU AFC
Last election 54.67%, 36 seats 34.07%, 22 seats
(PNCR only)
8.43%, 5 seats
Seats won 32 26 7
Seat change Decrease4 Increase3 Increase2
Popular vote 166,340 139,678 35,333
Percentage 48.60% 40.81% 10.32%
Swing Decrease6.07pp Increase6.74pp Increase1.89pp

President before election

Bharrat Jagdeo
PPP/C

Elected President

Donald Ramotar
PPP/C

Electoral system

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The 65 members of the National Assembly were elected by closed list proportional representation in two groups; 25 members were elected from the 10 electoral districts based on the regions, and 40 elected from a single nationwide constituency.[3] Seats were allocated using the Hare quota.

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.[3]

Presidential candidates

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The ruling People's Progressive Party/Civic nominated Donald Ramotar, the party's general secretary and advisor to outgoing President Bharrat Jagdeo.[2] A Partnership for National Unity (an alliance of the People's National Congress Reform, the Guyana Action Party and the Working People's Alliance)[4] nominated David A. Granger, a former commander of the Guyana Defence Force. The Alliance for Change did not join the APNU, and opted to run alone, fielding party leader Khemraj Ramjattan as its presidential candidate.[3] The United Force nominated Peter Persaud as its presidential candidates following a leadership dispute.[3]

Police protection

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Election day was declared a national holiday and troops patrolled the streets in order to prevent violence as had happened in previous elections.

Results

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PartyPresidential
candidate
Votes%Seats
ConstituencyTop-upTotal+/–
People's Progressive Party/CivicDonald Ramotar166,34048.60131932–4
A Partnership for National UnityDavid Granger139,67840.81101626+3
Alliance for ChangeKhemraj Ramjattan35,33310.32257+2
The United ForcePeter Persaud8850.26000–1
Total342,236100.002540650
Valid votes342,23698.71
Invalid/blank votes4,4811.29
Total votes346,717100.00
Registered voters/turnout475,49672.92
Source: GECOM, Commonwealth Observer Group

By region

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Region APNU PPP/C AFC TUF Hare
quota
Total
votes
Total
seats
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes %
Barima-Waini 887 17.06 1 3,472 66.77 1 786 15.12 0 55 1.06 2,600 5,200 2
Pomeroon-Supenaam 3,287 18.28 0 12,555 69.83 2 2,086 11.60 0 51 0.28 8,990 17,979 2
Essequibo Islands-West Demerara 14,028 27.58 1 33,424 65.71 2 3,343 6.57 0 70 0.14 16,955 50,865 3
Demerara-Mahaica 84,828 54.20 4 60,851 38.88 3 10,635 6.79 0 201 0.13 22,359 156,515 7
Mahaica-Berbice 8,906 34.83 1 13,558 53.02 1 3,079 12.04 0 29 0.11 12,786 25,572 2
East Berbice-Corentyne 10,798 19.68 0 32,360 58.97 2 11,634 21.20 1 83 0.15 18,292 54,875 3
Cuyuni-Mazaruni 2,843 48.95 1 2,376 40.91 1 505 8.69 0 84 1.45 2,904 5,808 2
Potaro-Siparuni 739 28.75 0 741 28.83 0 995 38.72 1 95 3.70 2,570 2,570 1
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo 2,004 27.57 0 4,135 56.89 1 946 13.02 0 183 2.52 7,268 7,268 1
Upper Demerara-Berbice 11,358 72.88 2 2,868 18.40 0 1,324 8.50 0 34 0.22 7,792 15,584 2
National Assembly top up 139,678 40.81 16 166,340 48.60 19 35,333 10.32 5 885 0.26 5,265 342,236 65
Source: GECOM Guyana Election Law

Aftermath

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The PPP/C won for the fifth straight time, but with a minority government. PPP/C candidate Donald Ramotar was elected President, but the opposition parties won a majority in the National Assembly.

References

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  1. ^ "Opposition parties warn GECOM about pitfalls of re-opening registration". Demerara Waves. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  2. ^ a b Guyana governing party's Donald Ramotar wins election BBC News, 1 December 2011
  3. ^ a b c d Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group - GUYANA NATIONAL AND REGIONAL ELECTIONS, 28 November 2011
  4. ^ About APNU Archived 2011-11-28 at the Wayback Machine APNU