Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Bharrat JAGDEO (since NA August 1999); note - assumed presidency after resignation of President JAGAN head of government: Prime Minister Samuel HINDS (since NA December 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president, responsible to the legislature elections: president elected by the majority party in the National Assembly following legislative elections, which must be held at least every five years; elections last held 15 December 1997 (next to be held by January 2001); prime minister appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (65 seats, 53 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms) elections: last held 15 December 1997 (next to be held by January 2001; this date was part of a negotiated settlement between the two main political parties following a dispute over the December elections) election results: percent of vote by party - PPP 54%, PNC 41%, AFG 1%, TUF 1%; seats by party - PPP 29, PNC 22, AFG 1, TUF 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature; Judicial Court of
Appeal; High Court
Political parties and leaders: Alliance for Guyana or AFG [Rupert
ROOPNARINE]; Democratic Labor Movement or DLM ; For a
Good and Green Guyana or GGG ; Guyana Democratic Party
or GDP ; Guyana Labor Party or GLP ; Guyanese
Organization for Liberty and Democracy Party or GOLD [Anthony
MEKDECI]; National Democratic Front or NDF ; National
Republican Party or NRP ; People's Democratic
Movement or PDM ; People's National Congress or PNC
; People's Progressive Party or PPP ;
The United Force or TUF ; Working People's Alliance or
WPA
Political pressure groups and leaders: Civil Liberties Action Committee or CLAC; Guyana Council of Indian Organizations or GCIO; Trades Union Congress or TUC note: the GCIO and the CLAC are small and active but not well organized
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB,
ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO
(subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Ali Odeen ISHMAEL chancery: 2490 Tracy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 265-6900 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador James F. MACK embassy: 99-100 Young and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 10507, Georgetown telephone: (2) 54900 through 54909, 57960 through 57969 FAX: (2) 59497
Flag description: green, with a red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a long, yellow arrowhead; there is a narrow, black border between the red and yellow, and a narrow, white border between the yellow and the green