1980 Guyanese general election

1980 Guyanese general election

←  1973 15 December 1980 1985  →
53 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly 33 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	82.31%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Forbes Burnham Cheddi Jagan Marcellus Fielden Singh Party PNC PPP TUF Leader since 13 February 1955 1 January 1950 January 1969 Seats won 53 10 2 Seat change 16 4 Popular vote 312,988 78,414 11,612 Percentage 77.66% 19.46% 2.88% Swing 7.56pp 7.10pp 0.13pp
Results by district
President before election Forbes Burnham PNC Elected President Forbes Burnham PNC

General elections were held in Guyana on 15 December 1980. ^[1] The result was a victory for the People's National Congress, which won 41 of the 53 directly-elected seats. However, the PNC's victory was the result of fraud as the government had direct control of the elections. ^[2] Voter turnout was 82.3%. ^[1]

Electoral system

The elections followed the adoption of a new constitution which changed the presidency from a ceremonial post to an executive one and enlarged the National Assembly. In addition to the existing 53 members elected by proportional representation in a nationwide constituency, the National Assembly was expanded to include ten members appointed by the regional councils, created under the new constitution and elected on the same date as the national members, and two appointed by the National Congress of Local Democratic Organs, an umbrella body representing the regional councils also created by the new constitution. ^[3]

The President was elected by a first-past-the-post double simultaneous vote system, whereby each list nominated a presidential candidate and the candidate heading the list that received the most votes was elected president. ^[3]

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Elected	Regional appointees	NCLDO appointees	Total	+/–
	People's National Congress	312,988	77.66	41	10	2	53	+16
	People's Progressive Party	78,414	19.46	10	0	0	10	–4
	United Force	11,612	2.88	2	0	0	2	0
Total		403,014	100.00	53	10	2	65	+12
Valid votes		403,014	99.20
Invalid/blank votes		3,251	0.80
Total votes		406,265	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		493,550	82.31
Source: Nohlen, Chandisingh

References

1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p363 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
2. Nohlen, p355-359
3. "Guyana's new Constitution and the elections of 1980: A case of people's power?", Rajendra Chandisingh