General elections were held in Guyana on 15 December 1997.[1] The result was a victory for the People's Progressive Party/Civic, which won 29 of the 53 seats. Voter turnout was 88.4%.[1]
Electoral system
The National Assembly had 65 members; 53 elected by proportional representation in a nationwide constituency, 10 appointed by the Regional Councils elected on the same date as the national members, and 2 appointed by the National Congress of Local Democratic Organs, an umbrella body representing the regional councils.[2] These were the last elections to feature that electoral system, as the electoral law was amended in February 2001 ahead of the elections in March that year.[3]
The President was elected by a first-past-the-postdouble simultaneous vote system, whereby each list nominated a presidential candidate and the presidential election itself was won by the candidate of the list having a plurality.[2]
