ELECTIONS 2025: President says gov’t will not ‘go beyond constitutional mandate’ 

President Dr Irfaan Ali on Saturday assured the public that the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government will comply with the constitution and announce a date for the 2025 General and Regional Elections shortly.

“Constitutionally, I still have a lot of time.

“Elections, constitutionally, (are) still closer to the end of the year so don’t worry. What you can be assured of is that this government will not go a single day beyond its constitutional mandate unlike what you’re accustomed to or what you would have been exposed to after the no-confidence motion,” President Ali told reporters at the sidelines of an engagement on Saturday.

Guyana’s last General and Regional Elections were held in March 2020; Dr. Ali, the party’s Presidential candidate, was sworn-in as President in August 2020 after several several attempts by the then government and figures from the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to derail the process.

President Ali previously said he strongly believes that the party will win the next elections, doing so with a substantial margin.

“You can be assured that we will be within our constitutional mandate and confidently we will be marching into elections,” Dr Ali said on Saturday.

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, who is the PPP/C General Secretary, confirmed before that Dr. Ali will be the party’s presidential candidate.

At his last press conference held last Thursday, Jagdeo also said the party is at its strongest, evidenced by widespread support across the country. Similarly, in a 2024 yearend interview, President Ali opined that the PPP will win the upcoming elections with a huge margin as more people are embracing the party and its work across the country.

Meanwhile, a $7.3 billion budget was approved for GECOM earlier this year. In 2024, GECOM received an allocation of $3.5 billion; the increase ensures adequate funding for elections.

The budget allocation includes significant sums for staff training, with millions earmarked for the recruitment and preparation of the temporary workforce.