Honestly, if you were watching the news on September 1, 2025, the energy in Georgetown was basically electric. Everyone knew this wasn't just another trip to the ballot box. With billions in oil revenue on the line and that ongoing tension with Venezuela over the Essequibo region, the stakes were high. Like, astronomically high.
So, who won the Guyana election 2025? It was Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
The incumbent president and his People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) didn't just win; they kind of steamrolled the competition. They locked in a second term with a pretty massive mandate, securing 36 out of the 65 seats in the National Assembly. That’s a three-seat jump from their 2020 performance, which tells you a lot about how the public felt about the last five years of breakneck economic growth.
The Numbers That Actually Matter
When the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) finally made it official on the night of September 6, the data was pretty stark.
The PPP/C grabbed 242,498 votes, which is about 55.31% of the total. If you look back at 2020, they were sitting at 50.69%. That’s a nearly 5% swing toward the ruling party, which is almost unheard of in a country where political lines are usually drawn deep in the sand.
But the real shocker wasn't just that Ali won. It was who came in second.
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For decades, Guyanese politics was a two-horse race between the PPP/C and the PNC-led coalition (APNU). Not this time. A brand new party called We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), led by business magnate Azruddin Mohamed, basically came out of nowhere to snatch the silver medal.
WIN secured 109,066 votes (24.87%), taking 16 seats. They literally pushed the traditional opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), into a distant third place. APNU, led by Aubrey Norton, plummeted to just 12 seats. It was a political earthquake.
Why the PPP/C Swept the Districts
You've gotta look at Region 4 (Demerara-Mahaica) to understand the magnitude of this. This has historically been an opposition stronghold—the place where the PPP/C usually struggled. In 2025, for the first time since Guyana's independence in 1966, the PPP/C won the most votes in Region 4.
They also flipped Region 8. Basically, Ali’s strategy of massive infrastructure spending and direct cash grants—like that universal one-off payout everyone talked about—paid off big time.
The opposition, specifically Amanza Walton-Desir and the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM), tried to argue that all this spending was just fueling inflation. They pointed out that despite the oil wealth, many Guyanese were still feeling the pinch at the grocery store. It was a valid point, but it didn't resonate enough to stop the "Ali momentum."
The "WIN" Factor and the New Opposition
Let's talk about Azruddin Mohamed for a second. His WIN party was only three months old when the election happened. Three months!
He used a massive social media presence and his status as one of the country's wealthiest individuals to position himself as a "wildcard" who could manage the oil wealth better than the career politicians. Even though he’s faced sanctions from the US over some pretty heavy allegations involving tax revenue and bribery, a huge chunk of the electorate—especially in Regions 7 and 10—didn't seem to care. They wanted change, and he offered a version of it that was flashy and populist.
The Breakdown of the National Assembly
The 65 seats are now split in a way we've never seen before:
- PPP/C: 36 seats (The majority)
- WIN: 16 seats (The new main opposition)
- APNU: 12 seats (The old guard, now struggling)
- FGM: 1 seat (Amanza Walton-Desir’s group)
It’s a weirdly lopsided table. The PPP/C has enough power to pass almost anything they want, but they’re facing a much more vocal, business-oriented opposition in WIN.
The Oil Factor: Blessing or Curse?
The whole 2025 campaign was essentially a referendum on oil. Guyana is currently the world’s fastest-growing economy, thanks to the $7.5 billion (and counting) windfall from the ExxonMobil-led consortium.
Ali’s pitch was simple: "We've delivered on our promises, and we need five more years to finish the job." He’s talking about the new national highway links, the Buzz Bee Dam works, and turning Guyana into a regional energy hub.
The critics, however, are worried about the "resource curse." They look at the 58.41% voter turnout—which was actually a bit lower than previous years—and wonder if people are becoming disillusioned. When you have billions flowing in but the "small man" is still struggling with the cost of living, that’s a recipe for long-term tension.
What Happens Now?
Dr. Irfaan Ali was sworn in for his second term on September 7, 2025. His 2025–2030 mandate is pretty clear, but it’s not going to be a walk in the park.
He has to navigate the territorial claims from Venezuela, which kept everyone on edge throughout the election cycle. He also has to manage a much more aggressive, well-funded opposition in the form of Azruddin Mohamed's WIN party.
If you're looking for actionable insights on what this means for the future, keep an eye on these three things:
- Direct Cash Transfers: Expect more of these. The PPP/C knows they work for winning elections, and with oil revenues climbing, the pressure to "share the wealth" directly is only going to grow.
- Infrastructure Boom: The government is likely to double down on massive projects. If you’re in the construction or logistics business, Guyana is basically the place to be for the next five years.
- The Rise of Populism: The success of the WIN party shows that the traditional ethnic voting blocs in Guyana are starting to crack. People are voting more on economic interest and "personality" than they used to.
The Guyana election 2025 proved that the status quo is dead. The country has a winner, but the way politics works in Georgetown has changed forever. Whether that’s a good thing or not... well, we’ve got until 2030 to find out.
If you're following the economic side of things, your next step should be to monitor the official gazetting of the new National Development Strategy. This document will outline exactly how that 36-seat majority plans to spend the next few billion dollars of oil royalties. Stay tuned to the Ministry of Finance's monthly reports; they're the only way to see if the "trickle-down" is actually happening.