Guyana

An independent nation, part of the Commonwealth of Nations. Its form of government is a semi-presidential republic. The President is the Head of State, elected by popular vote as the leader of a party list in parliamentary elections. The Prime Minister is the Head of Government and is appointed by the President. 

Guyana is divided in ten administrative regions.

The National Assembly of Guyana is unicameral. It is composed of 65 members, of whom 40 seats are directly elected in a single national constituency and 25 are directly elected in 10 multi-member constituencies. There may also be other members of parliament who are not popularly elected, such as secretaries and the Speaker of the Assembly.

Each of the 10 regions is administered by a Regional Democratic Council (RDC), headed by a Chairperson. At the local level, there are three different types of administrative bodies: 10 Town or Municipal Councils; 65 Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs); and 75 Amerindian Village Councils (AVCs).

Presidency of the Republic, National Assembly, regional and municipal Councils: five years.

National Assembly: mixed proportional system.

National Assembly: 40 members elected by closed list proportional representation. 25 members elected by closed list proportional representation in 10 regional district lists.

National Assembly: 10 multi-member constituencies.

The Representation of People (Amendment) Act 2000 (Section 11B, Articles 5-7) provides gender representation as an eligibility criterion for political parties wishing to stand in national and regional elections. It stipulates that each political party must have at least one-third women on the list submitted to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).

Local Democratic Organs Act (1989, Amendments 1981,1985, 1990, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2006); Local Authorities (Elections) Act (1969, Amendments 1972, 1981, 1986, 1990(3), 1994(2), 1997, 1998(2), 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018); Local Government Act 1998 (amended 2015); Municipal and District Councils Act 1998 (amended 2015), Amerindian Act 2006.

Electoral management body independent from the Executive power: Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).