members elected in a single nationwide constituency and a Speaker elected by MPs). The first elections held under the new system took place in 1964, and although the PPP again emerged as the largest party, the PNC was able to form a coalition government with the United Force, which together held 29 seats. Despite losing the elections Jagan refused to resign as Prime Minister, and had to be removed by Governor Richard Luyt, with Burnham replacing him. After independence in 1966, the House of Assembly was renamed the National Assembly. The electoral system remained unchanged, but the elections were rigged by the PNC, which had transferred responsibility for holding elections from the Electoral Commission to a government department. Unfair elections were held in 1968 and 1973. A new constitution promulgated in 1980 led to the creation of an executive president; the leader of the party that received the most votes in an election would automatically assume the post. Two further fraudulent elections were held in 1980 and 1985, with the PNC winning an increasing number of seats on each occasion. Due to demands from Western countries and international organisations, democratic reforms were introduced in the late 1980s, and after several postponements, free and fair elections were held in 1992. The result was a victory for the PPP, with Jagan returning to power after a 28-year hiatus. The PPP went on to win the next elections in 1997. In 2001 the electoral system was modified; the single 53-member nationwide constituency was replaced by a 40-member nationwide constituency and 10 multi-member constituencies based on the country's regions, which together elected a further 25 members. Elections later that year saw another PPP victory, which the party repeated in 2006 The 2011 elections saw the PPP won the largest number of seats (32), but fail to achieve a majority; however, although opposition parties held a majority of seats, the rule that the head of the largest party becomes President allowed new PPP leader Donald Ramotar to assume the position. Prior to the 2015 elections all parliamentary opposition parties (the Alliance for Change and the four-member APNU, which included the PNC) formed a single electoral list. The elections saw the joint list win 33 seats, allowing PNC leader David A. Granger to become president. Electoral system The 65 elected members of the National Assembly are elected for a five-year term using closed list proportional representation