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4h ago

Guyana Votes in Three-Way Race to Steer Oil Windfall

The outcome will determine stewardship of a rapidly expanding oil economy under pressure from border tensions.

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Voters line up at a polling station during general elections in Georgetown, Guyana, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Presidential candidate Azruddin Mohamed of the We Invest in Nationhood party greets supporters after voting in general elections in Georgetown, Guyana, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A voter casts her ballot during general elections in Georgetown, Guyana, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)

Overview

  • Polling stations opened from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the elections commission indicating results are expected later this week, and international observers from The Carter Center, the OAS and CARICOM are monitoring after a disputed 2020 count.
  • Incumbent Irfaan Ali (PPP/C) faces Aubrey Norton (PNCR/APNU) and billionaire newcomer Azruddin Mohamed (WIN), whose U.S. Treasury sanctions last year raise diplomatic and commercial questions he rejects as unfounded.
  • Control of soaring petroleum revenue dominates the campaign as production since 2019 has quadrupled the state budget to about $6.7 billion for 2025 and output is slated to climb toward one million barrels per day by 2030.
  • Voting patterns remain strongly tied to ethnic identity, the PPP/C currently holds a one-seat majority in the 65-member assembly, and WIN’s vote share could prove pivotal under the closed-list proportional system.
  • Security concerns shadow the vote after Guyana reported Venezuelan gunfire at a boat carrying election materials in the Essequibo region, a claim Caracas denies as tensions over the disputed territory persist.