Pictured above: Guyana’s current President Irfaan Ali, speaking to attendees at CERAWeek 2024 in Houston, Texas.
(Bloomberg) – Voters in Guyana headed to the polls to decide whether to re-elect President Irfaan Ali or back rivals pledging to squeeze more wealth from ExxonMobil’s offshore oil fields, even as troops came under fire from across the Venezuelan border.
Lines formed early Monday in Georgetown, the capital, as more than 750,000 citizens were called to vote for a president, 65 lawmakers and 10 regional councils. Polls opened at 6 a.m. under bright sunshine, with orderly scenes reported at many of the more than 2,000 polling stations.
The campaign has unfolded amid escalating tensions with Caracas, with Guyanese police and soldiers escorting ballot boxes by boat along the upper Cuyuni River coming under fire on Sunday from gunmen on the Venezuelan side. No one was hurt and the materials arrived safely.
Ali, in power since 2020, has refused to revisit Guyana’s 2016 production-sharing contract with Exxon, which critics say is too favorable to the company and its partners Chevron Corp. and CNOOC Ltd. His main challenger, Aubrey Norton of the APNU coalition, has vowed to “engage Exxon on every aspect of the contract that we believe can be utilized to increase the benefits to the people of Guyana.” U.S.-sanctioned gold trader Azruddin Mohamed is also drawing crowds with his new We Invest in Nationhood party.
There are no reliable polls predicting the likely winner, and even if one of the opposition candidates prevails, it’s unclear they’d have the authority to cut a new deal with Exxon.
Guyana’s elections commission says an official declaration of the result isn’t expected until Thursday. The vote is being monitored by 700 local and foreign observers including the Carter Center, Commonwealth, Caribbean Community and European Union.
Security has dominated the final stretch. Norton said the Guyana Defence Force needs better boats and technology to respond to Venezuelan attacks, while Ali countered that his government has made “serious investment in the military and they’re far better equipped.” After voting, Ali told reporters, “Guyanese security forces are equipped and ready to deal with threats from Venezuela.”
The election also comes as U.S. warships approach Caribbean waters north of Venezuela in an anti-narcotics operation. Ali said Guyana would back efforts to “eliminate any threat” to its sovereignty and regional security.
Voters are weighing promises of higher salaries, pensions and social programs as oil revenue is projected to climb to $10 billion a year by 2029 from $2.5 billion in 2025.
“I voted due to the fact that we have to get betterment,” said 26-year-old delivery clerk Mohan Haypatty. “With the right government in place we should get some improvement.”
