French Guiana elects a legislature on the regional and departmental level. The legislature consists of two councils with diverging powers. The Regional Council (Conseil régional), is one of the four French Overseas Departments along with Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion. The four departments were upgraded from territorial political status in 1946 and they gained the right to regional councils along with all metropolitan France in January 1974. The Regional Council has 31 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation. The General Council(Conseil général) has members elected for a six-year term in single-seat constituencies. French Guiana has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work with each other to form coalition governments.
Last elections
2004 regional elections
CandidatePartyVotes (Round One)% (Round One)Votes (Round Two)% (Round Two) Antoine KaramPSG6,087 22.45%11,38037.24% Léon BertrandUMP6,59524.32%9,65031.58% Georges OthilyFDG5,23819.31%9,52931.18% Christiane TaubiraWalwari-PRG4,87517.98% - - Maurice PindardMDES1,7776.55% - - Brigitte WyngaardeThe Greens1,3164.85% - - Gladys RobinMiscellaneous7002.58% - - Léon Jean-Baptiste-EdouardPSG dissident5311.96% - -Total27,119100.00%30,559100.00%
Seats Party seats•Guianese Socialist Party 29Union for a Popular Movement 7Walwari 7
Past elections
1998 regional election
Party seats•Guianese Socialist Party 11Democratic Forces of Guiana 9Rally for the Republic 6Decolonization and Social Emancipation Movement 3Walwari 2
1992 regional election Party seats•Guianese Socialist Party 26Miscellaneous Right 3Rally for the Republic 2
1986 regional election Party seats•Guianese Socialist Party 15Rally for the Republic 9Miscellaneous Left 4Decolonization and Social Emancipation Movement 3
References
See also Electoral calendar Electoral system