The People's National Congress is a socialist political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

 led by Robert Corbin

Robert Corbin

Robert Herman Orlando Corbin is a Guyanese politician who is the leader of the opposition People's National Congress .Born in Linden, Guyana, Corbin worked for the Youth Ministry of the Presbyterian Church before being educated in social work and law at the University of Guyana and the Hugh Wooding...

. The party currently holds 22 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly.

History

The party was formed following the 1957 general elections

British Guiana general election, 1957

General elections were held in British Guiana in 1957. The result was a victory for the People's Progressive Party, whose leader, Cheddi Jagan, remained Prime Minister....

 by a merger of the Forbes Burnham

Forbes Burnham

Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham was the leader of Guyana from 1964 until his death, first as Premier from 1964 to 1966, then as the Prime Minister from 1966 to 1980 and finally as President from 1980 to 1985....

-led breakaway People's Progressive Party

People's Progressive Party (Guyana)

The People's Progressive Party is a political party in Guyana led by Bharrat Jagdeo. The party has been in power since the 1992 elections and currently holds 36 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly.-History:...

 and the United Democratic Party (most of whose support came from Afro-Guyanese urban middle class). In the 1964 elections

British Guiana general election, 1964

General elections were held in British Guiana on 7 December 1964. They were the first held under proportional representation, and saw the People's Progressive Party win 24 of the 53 directly-elected seats. However, the People's National Congress and United Force were able to form a coalition...

 it won 22 of the 53 seats and despite receiving fewer votes than the PPP, it was able to form the government in coalition with the United Force

The United Force

The United Force is a conservative political party in Guyana. It currently has one seat in the National Assembly and is led by Manzoor Nadir.-History:...

, with Burnham becoming Prime Minister. It remained in power following fraudulent elections in 1968

Guyanese general election, 1968

General elections were held in Guyana on 16 December 1968. The result was a victory for the People's National Congress, which won 30 of the 53 seats, although the PNC's victory was the result of fraud as the government had direct control of the elections. Voter turnout was 85.1%.-Results:...

, 1973

Guyanese general election, 1973

General elections were held in Guyana on 17 July 1973. The result was a victory for the People's National Congress, which won 37 of the 53 seats. However, the PNC's victory was the result of fraud as the government had direct control of the elections. Voter turnout was 81.0%.-Results:...

, 1980 and 1985

Guyanese general election, 1985

General elections were held in Guyana on 9 December 1985. The result was a victory for the People's National Congress, which won 42 of the 53 seats. However, the elections were marred by fraud and the People's Progressive Party and Working People's Alliance withdrew on election day. Voter turnout...

, but was defeated by the PPP in the 1992 elections

Guyanese general election, 1992

General elections were held in Guyana on 5 October 1992. The first free and fair elections since 1964, they resulted in a victory for the People's Progressive Party, which won 28 of the 53 seats. Voter turnout was 80.4%.-Results:...

, since which it has remained in opposition. The party changed to the APNU in the 2011 elections.