Guyanese constitutional referendum, 1978
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A constitutional referendum was held in
Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
on 10 July 1978. The proposed change to Article 73 of the constitution would abolish the need for referendums to change the entrenched provisions of the constitution (including presidential powers, the dissolution of Parliament and the electoral system) and instead allow them to be changed by a two-thirds majority in parliament (which the ruling People's National Congress had at the time).Rigged referendum
Guyana Journal, April 2006
It would also result in the postponement of the elections scheduled for later in the year, and instead the parliament elected in
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
would be declared a Constituent Assembly. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p356 The bill was passed by parliament on 10 April, with the referendum to be held three months later. The changes were reportedly approved by 97% of voters with a turnout of 70%,Guyana, 10 July 1978: Constitutional amendments of the Parliament
Direct Democracy although the figures were subject to fraud by the government.Nohlen, p365 The opposition claimed that turnout was only between 10% and 14%. Following the referendum, the parliamentary term was prolonged and a new socialist constitution was written and promulgated in 1980.


Results


References

{{Guyanese elections 1978 referendums 1978 in Guyana Referendums in Guyana Constitutional referendums