Guyana votes in elections amid oil boom debate and Venezuela tensions

The three-way contention is connected betwixt President Irfaan Ali of PPP, Aubrey Norton of PNCR, and billionaire Azruddin Mohamed.

People successful Guyana are voting for a president and members of parliament who volition beryllium watching implicit billions successful lipid revenue, offshore accumulation with a United States-led planetary consortium, and tensions with Venezuela.

Over 750,000 registered voters volition person until 6pm (22:00 GMT) connected Monday to formed ballots astatine immoderate 2,800 polling places.

Six parties are participating successful the predetermination to combat for the presidency and seats successful the 65-member parliament.

But it is efficaciously a three-way contention betwixt President Irfaan Ali of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Aubrey Norton of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), and billionaire Azruddin Mohamed, who started his We Invest successful Nationhood enactment successful March to situation the two-party presumption quo.

Voting has traditionally taken spot on taste lines, with the Indo-Guyanese supporting the PPP, and Guyanese of African descent backing the PNCR.

Billionaire Mohamed means to disrupt the strategy and has garnered immoderate young backers of his own. But helium is shunned by the US, which sanctioned him past twelvemonth implicit allegations that helium and his begetter Nazar Mohamed defrauded the Guyanese authorities of taxation gross and bribed nationalist officials. They contradict immoderate wrongdoing.

The South American country’s president is seeking re-election arsenic helium wants to walk gross from lipid income and royalties from a declaration with ExxonMobil and others connected infrastructure. Ali has governed 1 of the world’s fastest-growing economies since 2020 arsenic a effect of the oil boom.

President Irfaan Ali, who is moving for re-election, arrives to ballot during wide elections successful Leonora, Guyana, Monday, September 1, 2025 [Matias Delacroix/AP]

But absorption groups assertion that lipid net disproportionately favour well-connected groups, and 3 of the 5 parties challenging the PPP person besides pledged to renegotiate the country’s declaration with ExxonMobil.

The victor volition negociate a booming lipid system that has quadrupled the authorities fund to $6.7bn successful 2025 since accumulation began successful 2019.

But they volition besides person to navigate a important borderline quality with Venezuela implicit the Essequibo region, wherever astir of the nation’s lipid reserves are located.

The Venezuelan authorities claims the region, which has been governed by Guyana since independency successful 1966, arsenic its own. Despite Caracas having nary authorization there, Venezuela elected a politician to the portion this year.

The electoral committee successful Guyana has said results whitethorn beryllium expected by Thursday oregon later. The enactment that wins the astir votes volition prime the adjacent president.

Guyana’s 2020 predetermination was marred by a five-month standoff implicit ballot counting. Several planetary groups are connected the crushed to show the election, including The Carter Center, the Organization of American States, and members of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), a determination commercialized bloc.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies