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) 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.