The Private Sector Commission (PSC) of Guyana will prioritize its role as an elections watchdog ahead of the country’s 2025 vote, newly elected Chairman Gerald Gouveia Jr. said, announcing plans to revive the body’s elections monitoring system.
“That’s going to be our primary focus this year, making sure there is a deep turnout of PSC observers,” Gouveia said in an exclusive interview with OilNOW. “The goal is that we really just want fair, free and efficient elections.”
President Irfaan Ali has said that general and regional elections will be held in 2025. Gouveia noted that the group will take an active position this cycle to help safeguard electoral integrity.
The PSC was a key voice during Guyana’s 2020 election crisis, when it took five months for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to deliver a credible result and for a new government to take office. Following the March 2 election day, there were two declarations of results for the largest region, Region 4, which were so controversial they were determined to be unacceptable to move forward with — one of which was deemed unlawful in court.
A national recount was eventually conducted, even as court challenges threatened to derail the process. That recount confirmed that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) had won the election, unseating the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition.
Political uncertainty during that period, combined with the global economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, weighed heavily on the business climate. However, in the years since, investment has surged, driven largely by the country’s oil boom and increased international interest.
Gouveia said ensuring a stable and credible 2025 electoral process is essential, particularly given Guyana’s economic trajectory in recent years. “The amount of private sector investment has grown ten times over,” he said. “We want peace and stability.”
He also stressed the need for continuity in building relationships with overseas markets, noting the foundation laid by outgoing PSC Chairman Komal Singh. Gouveia noted that “Komal has done a great job of building relationships” with international business groups from places like the US, China, Dubai, Canada, India, the UK, and the Dominican Republic.
Gouveia, of Roraima Airways, was elected to lead the PSC. The new executive includes Kathy Smith of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry as Vice Chairman, Imran Saccoor of the Region Five Chamber of Commerce and Industry as Treasurer, Clinton Urling of German’s Restaurant as Secretary, and Manniram Prashad of MP Insurance Brokers and Consultants Limited as Corporate Coordinator.
“This is probably the youngest private sector executive in a very long time,” Gouveia added. “Having a leadership team like this, I’m very excited going forward in 2025.”
