TWO political parties have, officially, expressed interest in contesting the 2011 general elections, Chairman of Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Dr. Steve Surujbally, disclosed yesterday. He said, while it is still early, the People’s National Congress Reform-One Guyana (PNCR-1G) and Justice For All Party (JFAP) responded to letters sent to them and the other parties represented in the National Assembly.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) are the others to which the correspondence was directed and Surujbally said: “It is early days yet, but they will respond.”
The Constitution and the Representation of the Peoples Act makes provisions for the election of members of Parliament under the system of Proportional Representation (PR).
The National Assembly has a total of 65 members, 25 elected from the ten geographical constituencies and 40 on the basis of block votes secured.
The political parties contesting the elections are awarded, based on an electoral quota calculated by dividing the total number of valid votes cast by the number of seats contested.