A total of 13 parties yesterday submitted candidates’ lists to contest the upcoming March 2nd general and regional elections, with the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) coalition, the opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), and the United Republican Party (URP) being the only ones seeking to run in all 10 regions.
It suggests that to all intents and purposes, the general election will be a two-horse race between the APNU+AFC coalition and the PPP/C as despite contesting successive elections over decades, the URP is yet to secure a seat in the National Assembly.
It is now less than two months to the elections which comes at a critical juncture in Guyana’s history as the country joins the ranks of oil producers. The next government will manage unprecedented revenues, amounting to tens of billions of dollars annually from the first project by oil major ExxonMobil alone, with larger projects already in the pipeline. The enormous sums will enable the winning party to set the direction of development of Guyana for years to come and potentially consolidate their grip on power for the foreseeable future.