On 9 October 2011, President Bharrat Jagdeo called parliamentary elections for 28 November. 

In the previous elections held in August 2006, President Bharrat Jagdeo's People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) took 36 of the 65 directly elected seats. The main opposition People's National Congress Reform-One Guyana (PNCR-1G) took 22 seats. Voting in Guyana has often taken place largely along ethnic lines. Support for the PPP/C is high among the Guyanese of Indian descent, who account for 50 per cent of the population, while the PNCR-1G has strong backing among the 36 per cent of the population of African origin. A new party, the Alliance For Change (AFC), took five seats. The AFC, led by former members of the PPP/C, had urged voters not to vote along ethnic lines. The Guyana Action Party and the United Force (TUF) took one seat each. 

As the candidate of the winning party, Mr. Jagdeo (PPP/C), in power since 1999, was re-elected by parliament as President and officially sworn in in September for a second five-year term. 

Mr. Jagdeo was constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term. He backed his political adviser and PPP/C General Secretary, Mr. Donald Ramotar, as the party's presidential candidate in 2011. 

The PPP/C, which was seeking a fifth straight victory, was challenged by an opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), led by Mr. David Granger, a retired army brigadier. The APNU included the PNCR and the Guyana Action Party, among others. The AFC, the TUF and the East Berbice Development Association (EBDA) were also vying for seats in the National Assembly. 

The PPP/C ran on the government's record, emphasizing that under its administration, the country's GDP per capita rose from US$ 304 in 1991 to US$ 2,533 in 2010. Despite the global economic crisis, the country's economy has grown by an average of 5 per cent uninterruptedly since 2005. Mr. Ramotar pledged to pursue outgoing President Jagdeo's policies. He said that the PPP/C would work for better housing, education, health and energy security. Mr. Jagdeo called for a peaceful voting process for "a free, secure, socially just and prosperous Guyana". 

The APNU pledged to bring about "a good life" for all Guyanese. It proposed to establish a national unity government by inviting all parties to participate in the new government according to their share of seats in the elections. The APNU promised to work for poverty reduction and sustainable development. 

Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan's AFC argued that Guyana needed to make the "right turn, onto the right track". It promised to bring 28 changes, including lower taxes reducing the value-added tax from 16 to 12 per cent in its first year of office, and corporate tax from 40 to 35 per cent at the end of its first term. It also promised to create job placement programmes. 

On 28 November, 72.92% of the registered 475,000 voters turned out at the polls. 

The Organization of American States (OAS) said that free elections were "in progress" in Guyana. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) echoed that sentiment, while noting minor logistical problems related to the electoral roll. 

The PPP/C remained the largest party with 32 seats, but failed to secure a parliamentary majority for the first time in 19 years. The APNU took 26 seats and the AFC, seven. The TUF and the EBDA failed to win parliamentary representation. 

On 3 December, Mr. Ramotar was sworn in as the new President, announcing that he would form a minority government - the first since Guyana gained independence from Britain in 1966. 

On 12 January 2012, the newly-elected National Assembly held its first session. Mr. Raphael Trotman (AFC) was elected as its new Speaker, becoming the first opposition member to assume the post.