Guyanese President Irfaan Ali claims reelection

Guyana's President Irfaan Ali claimed reelection Wednesday to a second term, tasked with turning the South American nation's newfound oil riches into prosperity while navigating tensions with neighbor Venezuela.

"The numbers are clear... We have a great majority and we are ready to take the country forward," the 45-year-old told AFP by telephone.

Official results of Monday's vote have not yet been published.

Ali faces the uphill challenge of reconstructing a country with the highest proven crude oil reserves per capita in the world but one of the highest poverty levels in Latin America.

According to a 2024 report by the Inter-American Development Bank, 58 percent of Guyanese lived in poverty despite an oil boom that has quadrupled the state budget to $6.7 billion since production began in 2019.   

Guyana, with its breakneck pace of economic growth at 43.6 percent in 2024 -- the highest in Latin America -- aims to boost oil output from 650,000 barrels per day to over a million by 2030.

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Ali had promised on the campaign trail to "put more money in your pocket."

Much of the crude reserves are in the Essequibo region that makes up two-thirds of Guyana's territory but is also claimed by once-rich petrostate Venezuela.

A territorial dispute between the neighbors has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered massive offshore oil deposits in Essequibo a decade ago.

The region has been administered by Guyana for over 100 years. 

On election day, Venezuela accused its neighbor of "trying to create a war front" after Guyana claimed its neighbor had shot at a boat transporting election materials in Essequibo.

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