The question of who will cross the floor to support the vote for Regional Chairman, particularly in two of A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) former strongholds, Linden and Georgetown, is the pressing issue no one seems willing to address.
As councillors from Guyana’s ten administrative regions prepare to be sworn in, uncertainty looms. Will politics prevail? Will the people’s interests be prioritized? Or are votes within the councils up for sale, and if so, who is buying?
The September 1 General and Regional Elections are distinct yet held simultaneously, allowing citizens to mark their choice for both national and regional representatives on the ballot. The Regional Elections focus on the Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs), which govern the country’s regional administrations. These councils then elect a Regional Chairman and Regional Vice Chairman. Historically, this process was straightforward, as the two dominant political forces, the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) and APNU, largely controlled the RDCs.
The outcome of the September 1, 2025 elections, which resulted in the PPP/C securing 36 seats, We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) 16, APNU 12, and Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) 1, out of a total 65 seats in Parliament, has placed local RDCs in precarious positions. The presidential candidates for the major parties were Irfaan Ali for the PPP/C, Aubrey Norton for APNU, Azruddin Mohamed for WIN, and Amanza Walton-Desir for FGM.
In Linden, the RDC comprises 18 councillors: WIN holds 9 seats, APNU 5, PPP/C 3, and FGM 1. The swearing-in for this RDC is scheduled for Friday, after which councillors will vote for Regional Chairman. Yet no party holds enough seats to secure the chairmanship outright. This scenario is mirrored in Georgetown as well. In Linden, parties must decide whether to support WIN’s bid for chairmanship or if WIN councillors will cross the floor to back APNU. FGM’s single councillor could become the deciding vote needed to secure the chairmanship. Negotiations and bargaining are expected to begin imminently.
The political stakes are high as APNU faces a difficult choice whether to align with the PPP, a party that has historically marginalised APNU’s supporters and pursued economic policies seen by many as limiting the growth and prosperity of their communities despite Guyana’s booming oil economy.
At the same time, Guyana’s National Assembly, which has been in recess for four months, is scheduled to reconvene by November 2, 2025. The swearing-in of the Opposition Leader and elected parliamentarians is also expected by that date.
On the ground, the man-in-the-street shares widespread skepticism over whether APNU will join forces with the PPP, given their fraught history. The nation watches closely to see if political expediency will outweigh long standing grievances, especially as the country seeks to balance regional interests amid newfound oil wealth.
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