Six days after Elections 2025 were conducted, GECOM certified the results. Seven days after those elections, President Irfaan Ali was sworn in. If it were not for a time-wasting exercise of asking for and completing a recount for 468 boxes in Regions 4 and 5, the certification of the results and swearing it would have occurred by four days after the elections. GECOM must be congratulated for the smooth running of Elections 2025.
The PPP won Elections 2025 by a landslide with more than 55% of the Guyanese people voting to stay the course and for President Irfaan Ali to serve a 2nd term. The PPP won in eight of the ten regions in Guyana and was competitive in the other two regions.
Where do we go from here? The answer is simple – from five years of remarkable development to five years of extraordinary development. The transformation work that started in 2020 proceeded at a dizzying pace, but in the next five years to 2030, transformation could completely change how Guyana looks and feels. Our national infrastructure, digital and AI technology would transform how Guyana looks, how things are done and how Guyana feels. Our communities would be transformed, looking more like developed countries and people’s individual lifestyle and welfare would be completely and positively altered.
Elections 2025 was not just another election. We had to first show that the shame of a political party trying to thief a whole election in plain sight of the world, as happened in 2020, is a thing of the past. We did have an effort by the PNC-led APNU and the Azrudin Mohamed “owned” WIN to delay the inevitable but GECOM was able to quickly complete the unjustifiable recounts that were demanded. We did have Azrudin Mohamed and his party recklessly and hilariously trying to portray themselves as “winners” of the election and demanding that Azrudin Mohamed be sworn in as President. But all-in-all, Elections 2025 were conducted with efficiency and there is nothing anyone would be able to present to any court to diminish the result and the voice of the people.
Outside of 2015 when the PPP conceded and congratulated David Granger as the new president, the PNC and all those in opposition have never had the decency to concede and accept the elections results. With Elections 2025 over, by seven days later, all the political parties have now either fully or partially conceded. This is a signal that maybe we are maturing in terms of electoral growth.
Clearly, there is a shift in our politics. For the first time whenever the PNC sits in the opposition, it would not be the main opposition party. For the first time whenever the PNC is in opposition, the leader of the PNC would not be the leader of the opposition, unless there is some sort of conspiracy, treachery and betrayal. If no conspiracy, or betrayal, then it is expected that Azrudin Mohamed will be the leader of the opposition. It would be the first time that the leader of the opposition is not the leader of either the PPP or the PNC.
The 13th Parliament would be one of the most interesting parliaments in Guyana’s history. We know that at least nine of the 16 MPs from Azrudin’s party will be geographic candidates. This means only six national candidates will be MPs. For the PNC-led APNU, they will have eight of the 12 MPs coming from their national list. WE can expect Amanza Walton-Desir to be the MP from the leftover seat that her party would have been awarded. From a perusal of the lists of the PNC-led APNU and WIN, it is clear that the government benches would make mincemeat of the opposition MPs. There is no way that the opposition can match the government benches in parliamentary debate. Instead of debates with substance, we can expect much hilarity, drama and theatrics.
But the next five years will see a country with development that stuns the world. Development will come in three separate packages. The 1st package of initiatives will see the country’s national infrastructure expanded and modernized, with new bridges, highways, hospitals, schools, stadiums, etc. Guyana will become the leading CARICOM country in digital and AI technology, the training capital and the sports capital. With food security expanded, Guyana will begin to be the source of food for many countries. Guyana will become CARICOM’s manufacturing capital for medicines and health products The country will be totally transformed in the way it looks, with Guyana becoming the envy of the Region and Guyanese beaming with pride that our country finally entered the 21st century and has finally taken our natural place in CARICOM as its leader.
The 2nd package of development initiatives will target the communities, our villages and municipalities. With work that started in 2020, the Irfaan Ali-led government will completely transform our communities and how people live. Every street in Guyana will be concrete and asphalt, no child will ever walk or play on mud dams. Every drain will be concrete drains; every post will have street lights and security cameras. Every recreation ground will have flood lights and be properly maintained. A new garbage system will ensure that our communities are safe, clean and beautiful.
The 3rd package of development initiatives will address the social welfare needs of the individual, ensuring every citizen has the opportunity to grow, ensuring that all persons with disabilities can reach their potential, making sure no one is left behind. Whether it is training opportunities, owning their own homes, starting small businesses or developing their talents, the opportunities for personal growth will abound.
This is why elections matter. Elections 2025 give us a chance as a country to advance our country’s place in the world while giving Guyanese unlimited opportunities to grow as families and as individuals.