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.
