1985 Guyanese general election

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General elections were held in Guyana on 9 December 1985 to elect members of the National Assembly. The assembly had 65 seats: 53 elected by proportional representation, 10 appointed by Regional Councils, and 2 appointed by the National Congress of Local Democratic Organs. Voter turnout was 73.8%.

The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), led by incumbent Desmond Hoyte, won 42 of the 53 directly elected seats. The main opposition, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) led by Cheddi Jagan, won 8 seats, while The United Force (TUF) led by Marcellus Fielden Singh won 2 seats. In the nationwide vote, the PNC received about 78.5%, the PPP about 15.8%, and the TUF about 3.4%.

Hoyte remained president after the election, which used a double simultaneous ballot system in which the party list with the most votes elected the president. The election was controversial, with allegations of irregularities, and the PPP and the Working People’s Alliance withdrew on election day.