Elections set for September 1

May 26, 2025 News

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…PPP signals readiness, no word yet from Opposition

Kaieteur News- President Irfaan Ali announced, on Sunday night, September 1, 2025 as the date for General and Regional Elections.

He made the announcement during his Independence address at Albion Sports Complex, Region Six, Berbice. President Ali also told the gathering that he will soon issue the proclamation for the dissolution of Parliament.

He said he arrived at his decision after engaging the Chairman of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Justice (Ret’d) Claudette Singh. He said he was assured that GECOM would be ready to hold elections on that date.

Back in April, this newspaper had reported GECOM Commissioner Charles Corbin saying that the Commission will be ready to host the 2025 General and Regional elections by late September.

President Ali’s announcement has come at a time when there is widespread discontent with his government’s management of the nascent oil and gas sector and their handling of the security sector, particularly the Guyana Police Force. Ali, who will be seeking a second term, will face the PNCR, AFC and other small parties- most of them yet to signal who will be their presidential candidates.

Ali was elected for a five-year term in the March 2020 elections, in which he defeated the incumbent David Granger, securing for his party a one-seat majority in the 65-seat legislature.  He was sworn into Office on August 2 of that year, months after the elections.

Kaieteur News was unable to contact the leaders of the main opposition party for a reaction to the announcement by the president.

We’re ready

However, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, in his capacity as General Secretary of the ruling People’s Progressive Party ( PPP), said he welcomes President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s announcement of September 1st, 2025 as the date for General and Regional Elections.

“As the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), I am proud to say that we are ready to deliver our message of continued progress to the people of Guyana in the upcoming election campaign.

Since returning to Office in August 2020, our government hit the ground running, and we have not looked back.”

Noting that in the face of a global pandemic, the PPP Government acted decisively. Jagdeo mentioned that they expanded COVID-19 testing, secured life-saving vaccines, reopened the economy, and restored essential public services. “Within just 40 days, we passed an emergency budget to remove burdensome taxes, support vulnerable groups, and revive critical sectors of the economy. And we did far more than that. In just under five years, we have restored confidence in the economy and created thousands of jobs for the Guyanese people. From agriculture and infrastructure to energy, ICT, and tourism, we have driven broad-based, inclusive growth. We invested heavily in healthcare, education, affordable housing, social welfare, and built stronger, safer communities.”

Jagdeo added that over this period, thousands of house lots have been distributed, putting land and homeownership within reach for ordinary Guyanese families. “We tempered the impact of the global increase in the cost of living by increasing disposable income across both the private and public sectors. To ease the financial burden on families and businesses, we introduced several initiatives — including subsidies on electricity and water, the removal of all taxes on gasoline and diesel, and the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, which led to cheaper access to data and other services.”

He said the government also reduced mortgage interest rates and implemented a range of additional measures aimed at putting more money into people’s pockets. “At the same time, we tackled rising living costs through targeted interventions for the elderly, unemployed, women, youth, and vulnerable communities, while safeguarding jobs and incomes nationwide.

Importantly, we did not just deliver on our 2020–2025 manifesto — we exceeded it by listening to the needs of our people and taking decisive action. We implemented initiatives that ensured all sections of society benefited — from miners and farmers to public servants, youths, entrepreneurs, and ordinary families in every community,” Jagdeo noted.

Looking ahead, he said the party’s re-election campaign will focus on plans to build on “this strong foundation. We will create thousands more jobs across new and traditional sectors, expand healthcare services with over 6,000 new jobs in that sector alone, and establish hubs for medical tourism, biotech, and information technology. We will modernise education by embedding STEM, AI, and digital skills in classrooms, increasing scholarships, and growing a Digital Guyana. Housing development will accelerate with the distribution of 5,000 house lots annually, alongside new climate-resilient communities like Silica City.”

He said major infrastructure projects — including new bridges, highways, deep-water harbours, modern airports, and waterfront developments — will reshape the national landscape, boost connectivity, and support economic diversification. Through pro-business reforms and SME financing, “we will continue to open opportunities for every Guyanese citizen. We also recognise that important work remains in several key areas. These include improving garbage collection and community drainage systems to foster cleaner, healthier neighbourhoods, expanding street lighting and other initiatives to enhance community safety, and making more land available for small miners and farmers to boost productivity and support sustainable livelihoods.”

“Needless to say, throughout our term, we have faced relentless obstruction from the Parliamentary Opposition, whose political games have done the country a disservice.

The PNCR/APNU/AFC/WPA, in whatever form they present themselves to the electorate, have no track record to stand on – no record of delivering for the Guyanese people – and nothing credible to offer the electorate. As such, Guyanese can expect their characteristic campaign of lies, racism and division to continue, along with the usual long list of unrealistic, lofty, populist promises, which they have no intention of fulfilling.”

The PPP leader said the party anticipates this and will meet this challenge head-on, “exposing their deception at every turn.

The PPP has always stood for democracy, social justice, economic growth, and national unity. That commitment remains unshaken. We will continue working to build a Guyana where every citizen – young and old, of every race, gender and religion – has the opportunity for a progressive and prosperous life.

We are ready for the 2025 Election. And we are prepared to win it for the people of Guyana,” the statement ended

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