Guyanese general election, 2015

Last updated April 05, 2019

Early general elections were held in Guyana on 11 May 2015, alongside regional elections.^[1] The result was a victory for the APNU–Alliance for Change alliance, which won 33 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly. Following the elections, APNU leader David A. Granger was sworn in as president on 16 May 2015.^[2]

Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. It is often considered part of the Caribbean region because of its strong cultural, historical, and political ties with other Anglo-Caribbean countries and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Venezuela to the west, and Suriname to the east. With an area of 215,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the third-smallest sovereign state on mainland South America after Uruguay and Suriname.

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) is a left-wing political alliance in Guyana.

The Alliance for Change (AFC) is a political party in Guyana.

Background

Early elections were called as a result of a stand-off between President Donald Ramotar and the National Assembly;^[3] after the President had defied spending cuts imposed by the National Assembly, the legislature called for a motion of no confidence. Ramotar subsequently suspended the National Assembly in November 2014 and dissolved it three months later.^[4] Ramotar announced the election date on 20 January 2015.^[1]

Donald Rabindranauth Ramotar is a Guyanese politician who was President of Guyana from 2011 to 2015. He was also the General Secretary of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) from 1997 to 2013.

The National Assembly is one of the two components of the Parliament of Guyana. Under Article 51 of the Constitution of Guyana, the Parliament of Guyana consists of the President and the National Assembly. The National Assembly has 65 members elected using the system of proportional representation. Twenty five are elected from the ten geographical constituencies and forty are awarded at the national level on the basis of block votes secured, using the LR-Hare Formula as prescribed by the elections Laws (Amendment) Act 15 of 2000.

A motion of no-confidence, alternatively vote of no confidence, or (unsuccessful) confidence motion, is a statement or vote which states that a person in a position of responsibility is no longer deemed fit to hold that position, perhaps because they are inadequate in some respect, are failing to carry out obligations, or are making decisions that other members feel detrimental. As a parliamentary motion, it demonstrates to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government. If a no confidence motion is passed against an individual minister they have to give their resignation along with the entire council of ministers.

Electoral system

The 65 elected members of the National Assembly were elected using closed list proportional representation from a single nationwide 40-seat constituency and 10 sub-national constituencies with a total of 25 seats. Seats are allocated using the Hare quota.^[5]

Closed list describes the variant of party-list proportional representation where voters can (effectively) only vote for political parties as a whole and thus have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters have at least some influence then it is called an open list.

Proportional representation (PR) characterizes electoral systems in which divisions in an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. If n% of the electorate support a particular political party, then roughly n% of seats will be won by that party. The essence of such systems is that all votes contribute to the result - not just a plurality, or a bare majority. The most prevalent forms of proportional representation all require the use of multiple-member voting districts, as it is not possible to fill a single seat in a proportional manner. In fact, the implementations of PR that achieve the highest levels of proportionality tend to include districts with large numbers of seats.

The Hare quota is a formula used under some forms of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system and the largest remainder method of party-list proportional representation. In these voting systems the quota is the minimum number of votes required for a party or candidate to capture a seat.

Results

National Assembly

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
APNU–Alliance for Change	207,201	50.30	33	0
People's Progressive Party	202,656	49.19	32	0
The United Force	1,099	0.27	0	0
United Republican Party	418	0.10	0	New
Independent Party	342	0.08	0	New
National Independent Party	254	0.06	0	New
Invalid/blank votes	4,000	–	–	–
Total	415,970	100	65	0
Registered voters/turnout	585,727	71.02	–	–
Source: GECOM

Regional assemblies

Region	APNU–AFC			PPP			TUF			URP			HTNTP			OVP			Total votes	Total seats
Region	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Total votes	Total seats
Barima-Waini	2,730	29.93		6,295	69.02		96	1.05		–	–	–	–	–		–	–	–	9,121
Pomeroon-Supenaam	7,231	30.91		16,040	68.56		52	0.22		72	0.31		–	–	–	–	–	–	23,395
Essequibo Islands-West Demerara	20,824	33.83		40,465	65.74		118	0.19		149	0.24		–	–	–	–	–	–	61,556
Demerara-Mahaica	112,362	61.08		69,986	38.05		38	0.02		512	0.28		418	0.23		294	0.16		183,954
Mahaica-Berbice	13,352	44.34		16,622	55.20		58	0.19		79	0.26		–	–	–	–	–	–	30,111
East Berbice-Corentyne	21,954	35.52		39,523	63.94		135	0.22		201	0.33		–	–	–	–	–	–	61,813
Cuyuni-Mazaruni	4,533	58.55		2,973	38.40		178	2.30		58	0.75		–	–	–	–	–	–	7,742
Potaro-Siparuni	1,791	48.21		1,837	49.45		47	1.27		40	1.08		–	–	–	–	–	–	3,715
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo	3,553	37.31		5,764	60.53		140	1.47		66	0.69		–	–	–	–	–	–	9,523
Upper Demerara-Berbice	16,671	84.85		2,763	14.06		108	0.55		106	0.54		–	–	–	–	–	–	19,648
Total	205,001	49.93		202,268	49.26		1,314	0.32		1,283	0.31		418	0.10		294	0.07		410,578
Source: Stabroek News

Map

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References

1 2 "Ramotar sets May 11 for elections". Stabroek News. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
↑ Neil Marks, Guyana swears in new president after multiracial bloc wins vote Reuters, 16 May 2015
↑ Guyana waits for election results Miami Herald, 11 May 2015
↑ Guyana votes in general election BBC News, 12 May 2015
↑ Electoral system IPU

External links

Guyana Elections Commission

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[starbroek-1] 1 2 "Ramotar sets May 11 for elections". Stabroek News. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.

[2] Neil Marks, Guyana swears in new president after multiracial bloc wins vote Reuters, 16 May 2015

[3] Guyana waits for election results Miami Herald, 11 May 2015

[4] Guyana votes in general election BBC News, 12 May 2015

[5] Electoral system IPU

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