2006 Guyanese general election
General elections were held in Guyana on 28 August 2006. They were initially scheduled for 4 August, but were moved to 28 August after President Jagdeo dissolved the National Assembly on 2 May.[1] The result was a victory for the ruling People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), which won 36 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly.
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65 seats in the National Assembly 33 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 492,369 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 338,839 (69.34%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Guyana |
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Legislature |
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Administrative divisions |
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Electoral system
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 country's Guyana, with 40 elected from a single nationwide constituency.[2] Seats were allocated using the Hare quota. The leader of the party winning the most seats automatically became President.
There were a total of 1999 polling places, open from 06:00 to 18:00,[3] and election day was declared a national holiday to encourage voter turnout.[4]
Campaign
The PPP/C of incumbent President Bharrat Jagdeo was ahead in the opinion polls and was expected to keep its majority in the National Assembly.[5] The main campaign topics were crime, drugs and the economy.[4]
Conduct
Observation teams from the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Commonwealth Observer Group, and the Carter Center attended the elections. Troops patrolled the streets in order to prevent violence.[5]
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |||
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| Constituency | Top-up | Total | +/– | |||
| People's Progressive Party/Civic | 183,887 | 54.6 | 15 | 21 | 36 | +2 |
| People's National Congress | 114,608 | 34.0 | 9 | 13 | 22 | –5 |
| Alliance for Change | 28,366 | 8.4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | New |
| Guyana Action Party–ROAR | 4,249 | 1.2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | –2 |
| The United Force | 2,864 | 0.8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Justice for All Party | 2,571 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 5,051 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 341,426 | 100 | 25 | 40 | 65 | 0 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 492,369 | 69.3 | – | – | – | – |
| Source: Psephos, IPU, The Official Gazette | ||||||
Elected members
| Alliance for Change | Guyana Action Party–ROAR | People's National Congress | People's Progressive Party | The United Force |
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| Source: The Official Gazette | ||||
Aftermath
By virtue of being the leader of the party winning the most seats, PPP/C leader Bharrat Jagdeo was re-elected as President. He was sworn in on 9 September.[4] The National Assembly met for the first time on 28 September, with Ralph Ramkarran re-elected as Speaker.[4]
References
- Guyana General Election Results 2006 Caribbean Elections
- Co-operative Republic of Guyana: Legislative Elections of 28 August 2006 Psephos
- Guyana New and Information - Election 2006 Guyana.org
- Elections in 2006 IPU
- Markey, Patrick (2006-08-29). "Guyana's Jagdeo set to win poll". The Irish Times. p. 7.