Guyanese President Irfaan Ali has reportedly secured a second five-year term in office, although the official final results from the recent general election held on Monday have yet to be announced. According to reports, Ali’s People’s Progressive Party (PPP) garnered at least 242,000 votes, achieving majorities in eight of the ten districts within the country. A newly established political party, We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), which began operations just three months prior, reportedly came in second with approximately 109,000 votes.
Ali, aged 45, focused his campaign on utilizing the nation’s considerable oil reserves—discovered in 2019—to enhance infrastructure and alleviate poverty while addressing ongoing territorial tensions with neighboring Venezuela. The composition of the 65-member parliament remains uncertain, but Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo indicated that the PPP is expected to hold a larger majority than in the last election in 2020.
Despite a lower voter turnout compared to previous elections, the PPP appears to have increased its share of the votes, while the opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity, placed third. A significant aspect of this election was the debate surrounding the management of revenues derived from substantial oil discoveries made by ExxonMobil since 2019, which have quadrupled the state budget. Guyana, with a population of around 800,000, now ranks among the top nations for proven crude oil reserves per capita and is one of the fastest-growing economies in the region.
There are allegations from opposition parties regarding the uneven distribution of oil revenues benefiting groups associated with the PPP, claims that the ruling party has denied. Azruddin Mohamed, head of the WIN party, raised concerns about voting irregularities, even as he acknowledged the party’s impact on established political structures. Observers from the Organization of American States have yet to report any instances of electoral fraud. Notably, the election took place against a backdrop of heightened tensions; shortly before, Guyanese police reported that a boat carrying election officials and ballot boxes had been shot at from the Venezuelan side in a disputed area. Venezuela has denied involvement in the incident, amidst ongoing territorial claims over the oil-rich region.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cevzj1yldl1o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss