At stake in this election:

• 65 seats in the National Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Bharrat JAGDEO
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS
• Assembly: Guyana has a unicameral National Assembly with 65 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by simple majority vote to serve a 5-year term.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
• In the National Assembly, 25 members are elected in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 40 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.***

*** In the National Assembly, the ten geographical constituencies will elect twenty-five members of the National Assembly and the remaining forty members will be elected will be chosen from party-lists. All members serve five-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: People's Progressive Party (PPP/Civic)
  • Leader: Donald RAMOTAR
  • Seats won in this election: 34
  • Seats won in last election: 34
• Party: People's National Congress (PNC Reform)
  • Leader: Desmond HOYTE
  • Seats won in this election: 27
  • Seats won in last election: 26
• Party: The United Force (TUF)
  • Leader: Manzoor NADIR
  • Seats won in this election: 1
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• Party: Working People's Alliance (WPA) /GAP Alliance
  • Leader: Rupert ROOPNARAINE
  • Seats won in this election: 2
  • Seats won in last election: 1
• Party: Rise Organize and Rebuild Guyana (ROAR)*
  • Leader: Ravi DEV
  • Seats won in this election: 1
  • Seats won in last election: N/A

* This party has been formed since the last election.

Last Parliamentary election:

• Parliamentary elections were last held on December 15, 1997; 65 seats were decided in the last election.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 743,163 (2001)
• Registered Voters: 440,185 (2001)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 371,617 (2001)

·         Is Guyana a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Guyana ratified CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 13 (following the 2001 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 124 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Guyana a signatory to CRPD: Yes (11 April 2007)

·         Has Guyana ratified CRPD: Yes (10 September 2014)

·         Population with a disability: 111,474 (est.)