Georgetown, Guyana , September 4(HS): President Irfaan Ali declared victory in Guyana’s presidential election, claiming a decisive mandate for a second term even before the release of official results. The 45‑year‑old leader told AFP that “the numbers are clear,” pledging to advance the country’s development and turn its vast oil wealth into broad-based prosperity.

Ali faces the delicate task of managing Guyana’s breakneck economic growth while addressing entrenched poverty levels. Despite holding the world’s highest proven crude oil reserves per capita and reporting 43.6 percent growth in 2024, the Inter‑American Development Bank estimated last year that 58 percent of Guyanese still live in poverty.

Since ExxonMobil’s 2015 oil discovery in the Essequibo region—a territory constituting two-thirds of Guyana but also claimed by Venezuela—the country has seen its budget quadruple to $6.7 billion and plans to expand oil production from 650,000 to over a million barrels per day by 2030.

The Essequibo dispute continues to stoke tensions. On election day, Guyana accused Venezuela of firing on a boat transporting electoral materials in the contested area. Caracas, in turn, accused Georgetown of “trying to create a war front.”

Ali campaigned on promises to deliver tangible benefits from the oil boom, repeatedly vowing to “put more money in people’s pockets.” His second term will test whether Guyana can transform resource wealth into equitable prosperity while fending off regional instability.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar