Mexico City: Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali was sworn in for a second term on Sunday after officially being declared winner of last week’s elections, as the small South American country reaps a windfall from offshore oil and gas production.
The country’s electoral commission certified Ali’s win on Saturday, saying that he had “secured a resounding victory” and that his People’s Progressive Party had secured a majority in Parliament, with 36 of the 65 seats. Guyana, wedged between Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname, has drawn increasing international attention in recent years for the vast oil reserves discovered offshore a decade ago and mineral wealth. The resource-rich Essequibo region — administered by Guyana but claimed by Venezuela — remains a point of tension.
Ali has won praise for channelling some of Guyana’s new oil wealth into popular social programmes.
In a speech after being sworn in on Sunday, the 45-year-old urban planner sent a message of unity. He promised new development that would rapidly expand the economy and said he would continue social programmes that “build more prosperity in every family and every home.”
“The next five years will be the most consequential in our nation,” he said. “History has placed our hands on the resources, the opportunities, the partnerships and the international goodwill to transform promise into reality.”