By: Staff Writer
August 29, 2025
General elections in Guyana are set for September 1 and despite one death so far of a prospective candidate from the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), the build up to the day has been relatively peaceful in the country.
No matter who wins on September 1, the next administration will use oil revenue and foreign investment to increase social spending and infrastructure development for the booming economy.
The PPP/C opted to re-nominate the ticket of incumbent president Irfaan Ali, with the party’s General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo citing the accomplishments of the administration during the term. On 18 June 2025, the largest opposition party in the previous parliament, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), announced People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) leader Aubrey Norton would be their presidential candidate, with Member of Parliament Juretha Fernandes as his running mate.
The Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), a smaller political party, has been mired in court battles for legitimacy and whether their candidates should be placed on the ballot for election.
Lawyer for the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Arudranauth Gossai told reporters that he did not expect either the Guyana Court of Appeal or the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to order a deferral of the elections until the hearing and determination of an appeal.
Mr Gossai said the Court would most likely come down in favour of the larger good of a significant segment of the population who ought not to be inconvenienced. “I don’t see any court doing that at this late stage because you have to look at the rights not only of the applicant but of the thousands of Guyanese who are also going to be affected because you have over 300 or 400,000 voters leaving aside Districts 7, 8 and 9 so the Court has to cast a balancing exercise,” he said. Mr Gossai, who practiced in the Eastern Caribbean States on election matters, said elections are not stopped.
Notwithstanding the ramp up in political activity from opposition forces, it is widely expected that president Ali will be reelected for a new five-year term after a contentious vote in 2020. Enjoying the oil wealth to fund broad government spending on infrastructure and social programs, Ali’s PPP is looking for an even larger majority in parliament.
The Commonwealth Secretariat and the European Union have sent election observers and early reports are indicating that the process is free from violence and manipulation.