Guyanese voters head to the polls today for General and Regional Elections that will decide whether President Irfaan Ali secures a second term in office. This election is shaping up to be one of the country’s most consequential, due to rapidly expanding offshore oil production and unprecedented inflows of revenue.
At a press conference on the eve of the elections, Chief Elections Officer, Vishnu Persaud, declared: “We are fully prepared to conduct the General and Regional Elections.”
According to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), 13,925 polling day staff have been trained, with 11,718 actually employed for today’s exercise. Security is also expected to be tight, with approximately 8,700 police officers deployed nationwide to maintain order.
To support transparency, approximately 500 local observers and 200 international observers have been accredited to monitor the vote. Observer missions from the Carter Center, the Organization of American States, the European Union, CARICOM, and the Commonwealth are already on the ground. Local observer missions include the Bar Association and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).
Voting begins at 6 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 6 p.m. However, polling stations could remain open as long as voters are still in line at the official closing time. The Guyana Elections Commission has established 2,790 polling stations across the country’s 10 electoral districts. The largest populations are concentrated in Regions 3, 4, and 6, making them decisive battlegrounds in the outcome.
There are 757,690 registered voters on the Official List of Electors, a figure that has raised concern due to the inclusion of deceased persons and those not living in Guyana. While Guyana’s population has long been estimated at around 750,000 to 800,000, an influx of expatriates in recent years tied to the country’s oil boom has added uncertainty. By law, citizens of Commonwealth countries who have been resident in Guyana for at least a year are also eligible to register to vote.
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The ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), led by President Ali, has expressed confidence that it will retain power, citing its record over the past five years of managing the country through rapid oil-fueled growth.
While the opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition and the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party have both signaled that they believe they can pull off an upset. Other smaller parties have indicated that their aim is to prevent the PPP/C from gaining a majority in parliament, thereby forcing it into a minority government reliant on opposition votes to pass legislation.
The memory of Guyana’s 2020 elections looms large over today’s vote. That contest plunged the country into a five-month political crisis, triggered by irregularities in the tabulation of results in Region 4, the most populous region, which would have handed a fraudulent victory to the then-incumbent APNU+AFC coalition. Multiple counts were found to be inconsistent with established procedures, prompting a national recount, which showed the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won, allowing for Irfaan Ali to be sworn in as President.
Persons, including ex-GECOM officials and a former APNU+AFC government minister, are before the court on charges related to election fraud.
Guyanese voters should not expect to know the winner tonight. Traditionally, results from the smaller districts are reported first, giving an early indication of trends. GECOM has stated, barring any upsets such as recounts, that it expects to have complete results by Wednesday, September 3, with a national declaration likely to follow the day after.
