Guyana’s governing People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won another term in Monday’s general elections, according to results published by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). This positions President Irfaan Ali for a second term as the country’s oil boom reshapes its politics.
The PPP/C won about 242,451 votes, up from 233,336 in 2020, more than doubling the count of its nearest rival, the three-month-old We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Party. WIN, led by billionaire businessman Azruddin Mohamed, secured 109,015 votes, largely at the expense of the once-dominant Partnership for National Unity (APNU). APNU garnered 77,973 votes, compared with 217,920 in 2020 when it ran in coalition with the Alliance for Change (AFC). The AFC slipped further, to just 3,611 votes, and along with smaller splinter groups ALP and FGM, performed negligibly.
The opposition’s collapse coincided with a dip in voter turnout, which fell by some 37,000 to about 438,345. Many APNU and AFC supporters may have withheld their ballots, while WIN captured swaths of votes in Afro-Guyanese and Indigenous communities, winning District 10 (Region 10), a traditional APNU stronghold.
Both APNU and WIN have requested recounts. On Wednesday night, GECOM approved a recount for APNU in a Sub-District of District 4 (Region 4). This is the largest electoral district and another of APNU’s strongholds, where PPP/C made inroads and won. The recount is set to begin at 8:00 am today.
There has been no indication from GECOM that approval was granted for other recounts.
Once GECOM approves all declarations, Mr. Ali will then be sworn in for his second term as President of the oil-rich nation.
Election observers from the Organization of American States, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Commonwealth of Nations reported no credible fraud, citing only minor issues and commending polling staff for their conduct. The Guyana Elections Commission is expected to officially declare the winner after recounts are completed.
The relatively peaceful atmosphere so far in this election cycle contrasts sharply with that of 2020, when Guyana was plunged into a five-month political crisis. That standoff was marred by attempts to rig the vote count in Region 4 to hand victory to the then-ruling APNU+AFC. A national recount later showed the PPP had won, leading to Ali’s first swearing-in.
Ali, who first took office in 2020, is set to steer Guyana into a second oil-driven term. Since ExxonMobil and partners Hess – recently acquired by Chevron – and CNOOC began production in December 2019, output has soared to more than 650,000 barrels per day (b/d). A fourth project, now online, will lift output above 900,000 b/d before year-end. Oil revenues to the government have reached US$7.5 billion, funding new roads, bridges, schools and hospitals.
The PPP/C has championed an infrastructure-first strategy, while also rolling out targeted cash grants, including a one-off GY$100,000 payout to every citizen. On the campaign trail, Ali’s party pledged more transfers in its second term amid calls from rivals for direct distribution of oil wealth.
