section_path: Decline and fall
section_name: Decline and fall
paragraph_text: Decline and fall
  
  In 1976 the PNM won 24 of 36 seats with 54% of the vote. In March 1978, Hector McClean, Minister of Works, resigned from the party and government and declared himself an independent MP.
  
  On 29 March 1981, Eric Williams died. Williams had maintained an iron grip over the party and forced all potential rivals out of the party. In the absence of a clear successor, President Ellis Clarke was left to choose the new Prime Minister from among the three Deputy Political Leaders of the party. Clarke appointed George Chambers Prime Minister in preference to Kamaluddin Mohammed and Errol Mahabir. Chambers was subsequently elected as Political Leader of the PNM and led the party to victory in the 1981 General Elections. The PNM won 26 of 36 seats and 52% of the vote.
  
  It subsequently held on to power until 1986 when it was defeated by the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) under the leadership of A. N. R. Robinson. The PNM won three of 36 seats, with 32% of the vote. Chambers resigned and was succeeded by Patrick Manning as Political Leader.