Backgrounder: Key facts about Guyana's general elections

Backgrounder: Key facts about Guyana's general elections
Close to 476,000 people in the small coastal South American nation of Guyana will go to the polls on Monday to elect a new president and 65 members to the national parliament under a single-constituency proportional representation system.

Following are some key facts about the elections:

Voting will start early morning in the capital of Georgetown and over 2,000 polling stations have been set up across the country.

The country covers an area of 214,970 square km and borders Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil. Its economy is dominated by agriculture.

Guyana's incumbent president Bharrat Jagdeo and leaders of all four parties contesting in the elections have all called upon the country's population of over 753,000 people to refrain from violence and allow for a peaceful voting process.

In office since 1999, Jagdeo took the initiative to change the constitution and establish a limit for a maximum of two five-year terms as president.

Whoever wins Monday's elections will be the first leader to succumb to these new term limits.

Guyana's Electoral Commission is the authority overseeing the elections which will be contested by four parties including the ruling People's Progressive Party (PPP), the Alliance for Change (AFC), the United Force party (TUF) and the Association for National Unity (APNU).

Donald Ramotar, candidate and also the secretary general of the ruling PPP, which currently holds 36 seats in parliament, is handpicked by outgoing Jadeo, who after two five-year terms is banned by the constitution from seeking reelection.

The 61-year-old Ramotar has promised that he will improve energy efficiency and create conditions for the younger generation in the national development through more jobs and better education.

APNU candidate David Granger, 66, is a retired general, who in his electoral campaign has accused the president and the ruling party of deliberately seeking to provoke the people and intimidate voters.

He has promised to work to improve the country's security and bring violence under control, while at the same time "improve the quality of life for all Guyanese through better education, work and health standards. The majority of the country's people live in poverty.

Khemraj Ranjattan, the candidate of the AFC which initially was formed by workers' socialist movements and currently holds five seats in the parliament, has centered his campaign on fight against corruption.

TUF candidate Peter Persaud has said he will support the APNU alliance in order to help bring the opposition to power. He also expressed confidence the party can increase its representation in parliament. During the 1997, 2001 and 2006 elections the TUF managed to hold on to its single seat in the Guyanese parliament.

According to latest opinion polls, about 50 percent of eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots in favor of the PPP while APNU comes in second with 30 percent of support, followed by the AFC with 11 percent.

The Organization of American States has deployed 25 observers to watch the elections.

Editor: Xiong Tong

English.news.cn   2011-11-28 11:50:59 FeedbackPrintRSS
MEXICO CITY, Nov. 27 (Xinhua)