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Addressing another massive gathering at Adelphi, Berbice, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh, declared that the People’s Progressive Party/Civic is on course for its biggest electoral victory in history on September 1.

Dr. Singh thanked Berbicians for standing firmly with the PPP through the most difficult decades — from the years of dictatorship under the PNC to the struggles against the APNU+AFC between 2015 and 2020. He reminded the crowd that it was their decisive action in 2020 that rescued Guyana from the grip of dictatorship and put the country back on the path of progress.

“Comrades and friends, you have stood with Dr. Jagan, you stood with Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, and you stood with the PPP through the darkest times. And when you acted in 2020, you ensured Guyana was saved from disaster. That is why I am confident you will once again come out in your numbers to protect our future,” he said to loud cheers.

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Ashni Singh with supporters at Adelphi, Berbice (Photo: Dr Ashni Singh FB/ August 29, 2025)

Dr. Singh warned that the Opposition is once again trying to mislead voters, with the AFC even calling for a PPP minority government. “We all know what that means — the first things to be cut will be the part-time jobs, the cash grants, and support for sugar workers. That is their record, that is their intention,” he cautioned.

He reminded Berbicians of the Opposition’s history of opportunistic coalitions: the PNC joining with the United Force in 1964, then joining with the AFC in 2011 and 2015, using “front men” to deceive communities where the PNC itself had no standing. “Every time they got in through deception, they delivered destruction. They lasted one term, and the people of Guyana sent them packing,” Singh declared.

Looking ahead to the 2025 polls, he warned that “whether they come in green, yellow, blue or purple, it is the same PNC, with the same intention — to steal votes and to hold back Guyana.” He urged the crowd to stay united, insisting that running a country demands vision, credibility and competence, qualities embodied in President Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister Brigadier Mark Phillips.

“And I ask you — of all those who are putting themselves forward, who has proven themselves as a leader other than Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali? Who has shown the qualities of a prime minister other than Brigadier Mark Phillips?” Singh asked, drawing a resounding roar of approval from the thousands gathered.

Dr. Singh closed by calling on Berbicians to turn out in overwhelming numbers on September 1. “Let us send a message so clear that it will echo through history — that Berbice stands with the PPP, that Guyana stands with the PPP, and that together we will deliver the biggest majority victory this country has ever seen.”

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Guyana’s Private Sector Commission (PSC) Saturday said it expects the September 1 General and Regional Elections to be free and fair.

The PSC will deploy more than 150 observers nationwide, many of them young people. Its operations centre will run 24 hours during the polls.

PSC Chairman Gerry Gouveia Jr. said a risk assessment rated the likelihood of incidents as “low to moderate.” Possible disruptions such as power cuts at election offices or road protests had contingency plans, he added.

“We are not anticipating any large-scale civil unrest,” Gouveia told reporters. “I feel this is the most ready I have ever seen our Joint Services, and the most unified in their approach to preparing for a peaceful process.”

Gouveia praised the elections commission’s plan to publish Statements of Poll (SOPs) online, saying it would “add a new layer of transparency.”

He urged politicians to take responsibility for their supporters. “We expect you to lead. You have to be accountable… We are calling on all political leaders to make sure they are not inciting violence with their language,” he said.

PSC Security and Governance Committee head Norman McLean said splitting large regions such as Three and Four into smaller subdivisions would make tabulation easier. “We are doing everything possible. I don’t anticipate that we will have great problems,” he said.

Both officials said their goal was to ensure the process runs smoothly and Guyana’s democratic values are maintained.

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A video has surfaced showing prominent businessman Nazar “Shell” Mohamed leaving the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown, reigniting controversy over his ties with Venezuela.

When reports of such visits first emerged, the Mohameds, sanctioned by the United States Government, flatly denied them, with Mohamed even daring Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo to produce proof.

‘I will stake my entire political career on this’ -Jagdeo challenges Mohameds to disprove Venezuelan embassy visit

Now, in the wake of recent tweets by U.S. Congressmen and Washington’s broader confrontation with narco-traffickers linked to Venezuela, questions are intensifying over the true purpose of Mohamed’s embassy visit.

United States Congress members had said they are alarmed about businessman Azruddin Mohamed’s candidacy in the upcoming elections, calling him a “pro-Maduro puppet”.

As a result, questions are being raised about the real reason for the visit of the Mohameds to the Venezuelan embassy.

Venezuela has been designated a narco state and the United States Government has a naval buildup in the Southern Caribbean and nearby waters, which U.S. officials say aims to address threats from Latin American drug cartels.

Seven U.S. warships, along with one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, were either in the region or were expected to be there in the coming week.

View the video here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1454833372235979

 

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See below the full statement issued by CARICOM: 

By way of communication dated 9 April 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana advised Member States that Guyana’s General and Regional Elections would be held in 2025. An invitation was extended to the CARICOM Secretariat to mount an Election Observation Mission (CEOM) to Guyana. Subsequently, on 25 May 2025, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, announced that the General and Regional Elections will be held on 1 September 2025.

In response to the invitation, the Caribbean Community mounted a ten-member CARICOM Election Observation Mission (CEOM) to observe the electoral processes for the General and Regional Elections, from 26^th August to 3 September 2025. The Mission comprises Electoral Officials from eight CARICOM Member States.

The CEOM is headed by the Chief of Mission, Ms. Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer of the Elections and Boundaries Department of Belize.  The other Members of the Observation Mission are as follows:

• Antigua and Barbuda – Mr. Ian Hughes, Supervisor of Elections (Deputy Chief of Mission);
• The Bahamas – Mr. Harrison L. Thompson, Parliamentary Commissioner;
• Belize – Ms. Fatima Gordon, Supervisor of Registering Officers, Elections and Boundaries Department;
• Dominica – Ambassador Felix Gregoire, Chairman, Public Service Commission;
• Grenada – Mr. Michael Paul Millette, Information Systems Administrator, Grenada Parliamentary Elections Office;
• Saint Lucia – Mr. Herman St. Helen, Chief Election Officer;
• Suriname – Ms. Reita Joemratie, Member, Independent Electoral Council;
• Suriname – Ms. Sonja Galimo, Member, Independent Electoral Council; and
• Trinidad and Tobago – Ms. Lena Champa Sahadeo, Deputy Chief Elections Officer.

The CEOM is supported by the following CARICOM Secretariat staff:

• Ms. Elizabeth Solomon, Assistant Secretary-General, Foreign and Community Relations;
• Ambassador David Prendergast, Director, Sectoral Programmes;
• Ms. Angella Prendergast, Director, Foreign and Community Relations;
• Mr. Dike Noel, Manager, Communications;
• Ms. Shae-Alicia Lewis, Programme Manager, Community Relations;
• Mr. Jhonson Alexandre, Deputy Programme Manager, Foreign and Community Relations;
• Ms. Anna Lisa Jones-Reis, Senior Project Officer (Ag.), Foreign and Community Relations; and
• Mr. Irvin Brown, Project Officer, Foreign and Community Relations.

The Deputy Chief of Mission arrived on 26 August 2025, and the Chief of Mission and one Observer arrived on 27 August 2025. Other Observers arrived on 28 August 2025.  Since arrival, meetings have been held with the Chairman and Chief Elections Officer of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), the Guyana Integrity Commission, the Commissioner of Police, the Ethnic Relations Commission, and the Women and Gender Equality Commission, the media, and various civil society groups.

Over the next days, the Mission will meet with H.E. Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and Leader of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), Representatives of the Leader of the Opposition – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), Alliance for Change (AFC), Assembly of Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) and Forward Guyana Movement (FGM). The team will also engage with additional civil society institutions and stakeholders, including local and international observers.  These meetings are expected to provide the CEOM with a general idea of the atmosphere and level of preparedness for the elections. The CEOM will continue to observe the pre-elections period, elections day and post-election activities.

The role of the CEOM Observers on election day is to observe the electoral process, including preparations for the start of the poll, the casting of votes, the closure of the polling stations, the counting of the ballots, the preparation of the statement of polls and the tabulation of results. Qualitative and quantitative information regarding the voting process and the results will be collected to facilitate the preparation of an Independent Final Report on the General and Regional Elections to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

Following the conclusion of the Election Day activities on 1 September 2025, and prior to the Mission’s departure on 3 September 2025, a Preliminary Statement will be issued, outlining the Mission’s initial assessment of the electoral process. The Mission will, thereafter, prepare a detailed Independent Final Report on the elections for submission to Dr. Carla Barnett, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community.

The CEOM is pleased to accept the invitation and appreciates the warm welcome given to the team by the people of Guyana. The CEOM looks forward to supporting the democratic processes of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and extends best wishes to the Guyanese people as they prepare to go to the polls with pride and unity on Monday, 1 September 2025.

JOSEPHINE TAMAI

CHIEF OF MISSION

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Forty-year-old boat operator Ryan Fredericks was on Thursday night found dead in a room of the Safari Inn Hotel at Friendship, East Bank Demerara, after he was allegedly robbed.

Police Headquarters said Fredericks, a resident of Mongrippa Hill, Bartica had reportedly checked into the hotel around 17:45 hrs with an unidentified woman.

Fredericks and the woman were accompanied by another boat operator, 38-year-old Navindra Kanhai of Second Avenue, Bartica. Police said Fredericks had hired Kanhai to take him to Parika earlier that day.

According to a Police report, investigations revealed that Kanhai and Fredericks met up with the woman who was waiting in a black motorcar at Parika.

They then travelled to the Safari Inn, where two rooms were booked- one for Kanhai and another for Fredericks and the woman.

Kanhai reportedly told Police that sometime between 23:00 hrs and 23:30 hrs, Fredericks knocked on his room door, bleeding heavily from a wound to his left arm. Fredericks reportedly told Kanhai that he had been “robbed and chopped.”

Emergency Medical Technicians were summoned, but by the time they arrived at the scene, Fredericks had succumbed to his injuries.

Fredericks body was examined and Police said there was a deep wound on the inner side of his upper left arm. His body was later taken to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mortem examination.

Police said Kanhai was taken into custody and is assisting with the investigation.

Efforts are being made to locate the woman.

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Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh has ruled that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) acted entirely within the law when it excluded the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) and the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP) from the ballot in several electoral districts ahead of the upcoming elections.

The ruling, delivered on Friday in the High Court, ends legal action brought by FGM candidate Krystal Hadassah Fisher, who had challenged the party’s omission from the ballot in Regions 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9 – arguing that her right to vote for her party of choice had been violated. But Justice Singh disagreed.

It was not GECOM that excluded the parties, he ruled, but the parties themselves who lawfully chose not to contest in those regions. It would be unlawful for GECOM to put them on the ballot.

Justice Singh emphasised that under Guyana’s electoral laws, a party must submit a list of candidates in each region it wishes to contest. In this case, neither FGM nor ALP submitted lists in the disputed regions – making it legally impossible for GECOM to include them on the ballot.

 

“You cannot tell voters in Region Seven that they can vote for a party which, by its own lawful choice, opted out of that region,” he said.

The court dismissed Fisher’s Fixed Date Application (FDA) in its entirety, rejecting all claims of constitutional breaches, discrimination, or procedural failure.

GECOM’s legal counsel, Arudranauth Gossai, stressed during the hearings that the commission merely followed the Representation of the People Act (RoPA), which requires the submission of constituency lists before any party can appear on a ballot.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, who appeared in support of GECOM, described the case as legally baseless.

“This was a frivolous and completely meritless application,” Nandlall said after the ruling.

“It is ludicrous.”

The judge also rejected claims that the ballot exclusion violated constitutional rights, including the right to vote and to participate in governance.

Referencing Article 13 of the Constitution, which promotes inclusive democracy, Justice Singh found no evidence that citizens were being denied meaningful participation.

Following the ruling, Gossai asked the court to award full costs to the respondents — totalling $1.6 million.

But Nandlall went further, requesting $2 million in legal costs, saying the case lacked “any serious grievance of an appalling nature” and had unfairly disrupted national election preparations.

“This application was filed just days before elections,” Nandlall said.

“It created uncertainty and cast unnecessary doubt over a process that is, by all accounts, being carried out in full compliance with the law.”

Attorney Vivian Williams argued that costs should not be used to dissuade persons from approaching the court for interpretation and asked that no costs be awarded.

Justice Singh said the case was filed at a late stage and that the court itself lost time along with all parties involved. He accepted Gossai’s argument for prescribed costs and noted that there were two respondents.

As such, he awarded discretionary costs of $1 million each to be paid by 8 September 2025.

With this decision, GECOM will proceed with elections as scheduled, and ballots for all 10 administrative regions will include only those parties that submitted the required geographic lists.

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With just three days before Guyanese head to the polls, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has commenced the transportation of ballot boxes and other critical materials to outlying and hinterland regions, ensuring that all is in place for the smooth conduct of elections on Monday.

Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO), Aneal Giddings, on Friday assured the nation that the Commission has implemented stringent security measures to safeguard the ballot boxes until polling stations open at 06:00 hrs on E-Day.

“Ever since we received the ballots from Canada and all the other documentation, we commenced the process of packing the ballot boxes for all 2,790 polling stations across the spectrum,” Giddings told the News Room at the GECOM Secretariat on High and Cowan Streets, Georgetown.

He explained that many of the boxes for hinterland regions have already been packed and dispatched. Friday’s activity, he said, represented the “tail end” of the exercise, with materials for Region Four being finalised and those for Berbice in Region Six.

The ballot boxes and election materials are being transported via aircraft through the Eugene F. Correia International Airport at Ogle and along the East Bank corridor to staging areas in Linden and other key locations.

Once the boxes arrive in the various regions, they are lodged at designated police stations and staging areas under heavy guard. Giddings explained that these boxes will remain secured until Monday morning, when deputy returning officers will collect them and deliver them to presiding officers at the polling stations.

Inside the ballot boxes are not only the ballots themselves, but also statements of poll, tally sheets, envelopes for packaging materials after the close of polls, as well as polling bags containing stationery, supplies, and voting compartments.

Giddings further assured that all staffing arrangements are in place, including the appointment of presiding officers, deputy returning officers, and supernumerary returning officers for the districts.

“We are prepared. We’re going according to schedule. Today was the day to ship off all these items to the regions. We are very well on top of that, and we should be all set for opening of poll at 6 a.m. on Monday,” he said.

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See below full statement issued by Financial Analyst, Joel Bhagwandin:

Imagine the leader of a political party, Nigel Hughes, pleading for you to vote for a minority government—so that he can claim to “hold the PPP/C government accountable” and disapprove national budgets brought before the National Assembly.

In other words, he is asking voters to give him the power to stymie development, to block progress, and to reverse the prosperity gains achieved over the last five years.

That is what he is essentially demanding. We have already lived through an era of minority government, and we know it was no good for our country, no good for development, and nothing but an impediment to progress.

Moreover, this is the very same political party that already had an opportunity to govern in coalition with the APNU during the period 2015–2020, and yet today has the audacity to speak about accountability. To now promote the farce of “opposition-led accountability through a minority government” is not only a hogwash conceptualization—it is hypocrisy.

And it is coming from a political party with a well-established and damning track record when it comes to accountability:

• The very party that attempted to rig the 2020 elections—with Nigel Hughes himself admitting he needed to “study” the AFC’s role in that disgraceful attempt (still waiting on this study).
• A party that has existed for nearly two decades yet still has no plan whatsoever for national development.
• A party leader whose own spouse, while serving as a minister in the APNU+AFC government, awarded contracts to her own company—signing cheques from her ministry payable to herself.
• The same party that shut down sugar estates, putting over 7,000 sugar workers out of jobs—ignoring the advice of its own $50 million Commission of Inquiry into GUYSUCO.
• The party that spent more than $400 billion without a budget in the post no-confidence period—blatantly violating the Constitution and the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act.
• The same party that hid the US$18 million signing bonus, once again in violation of the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act.
• The party that presided over the most egregious fiscal and procurement breaches in recent history—over $200 billion in flagged violations by the Auditor General.
• A party guilty of flagrant procurement law violations, including the infamous $200 million “feasibility study” for the Demerara River bridge that produced nothing of value.
• And Nigel Hughes himself, acting as attorney for Booker Tate, who ensured that once his party came to government in 2015–2020, his client was pardoned from legal action in the Skeldon project fiasco—allowing them to walk away scot-free from their failures, while the PPP/C government had been seeking $4 billion in damages.

I can go on and on. This is the party now begging you for a minority government. Not to lead. Not to develop. Not to serve. But to sabotage. To derail. To cripple Guyana’s future. Guyana cannot afford to go back to that era.

We cannot afford Nigel Hughes’s politics of obstruction and betrayal. We cannot afford a return to corruption, to closure, to chaos.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱—𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵, 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀.

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(Reuters) – Tensions between the United States and Venezuela are rising amid a large U.S. naval buildup in the Southern Caribbean and nearby waters, which U.S. officials say aims to address threats from Latin American drug cartels.

U.S. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a central goal of his administration, part of a wider effort to limit migration and secure the U.S. southern border.

While U.S. Coast Guard and Navy ships regularly operate in the Southern Caribbean, this buildup is significantly larger than usual deployments in the region.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said on Thursday that seven U.S. warships, along with one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, were either in the region or were expected to be there in the coming week.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has denounced the moves.

The Pentagon has not indicated publicly what exactly the U.S. mission will be, but the Trump administration has said it can now use the military to go after drug cartels and criminal groups and has directed the Pentagon to prepare options.

Venezuela on Thursday complained to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the U.S. naval buildup, accusing Washington of violating the founding U.N. Charter.

“It’s a massive propaganda operation to justify what the experts call kinetic action – meaning military intervention in a country which is a sovereign and independent country and is no threat to anyone,” Venezuela’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada told reporters after meeting with Guterres.

On Thursday, the White House said Trump was ready to use “every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country.”

“Many Caribbean nations and many nations in the region have applauded the administration’s counterdrug operations and efforts,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

The Trump administration designated Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs, as well as the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, as global terrorist organizations in February.

Part of the buildup is the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima, and USS Fort Lauderdale. The ships are carrying 4,500 service members, including 2,200 Marines, sources have told Reuters.

The U.S. military has also been flying P-8 spy planes in the region to gather intelligence, officials have said, though they have operated in international waters.

“Our diplomacy isn’t the diplomacy of cannons, of threats, because the world cannot be the world of 100 years ago,” said Maduro, whose government said last week it would send 15,000 troops to states along its western border with Colombia to combat drug trafficking groups.
Maduro has also called for civil defense groups to train each Friday and Saturday.

Maduro’s government regularly accuses the opposition and foreigners of conspiring with U.S. entities such as the CIA to harm Venezuela, accusations the opposition and the U.S. have always denied. It characterizes sanctions as “economic war.”

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The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Guyana’s 2025 General and Regional Elections on Friday deployed 20 short-term observers to all ten regions of the country.

These stakeholders will observe Election Day proceedings, including the opening of polling stations, voting, counting of ballots, and tabulation of results. Their observations will be vital for the mission’s comprehensive assessment of this important Election Day.

“I welcome the short-term observers and I really put a lot on your shoulders because you will the beating heart of our mission here in Guyana,” Chief Observer of the EU EOM, Robert Biedroń said.

Chief Observer of the EU EOM, Robert Biedroń (Photo: News Room/August 29, 2025)

Prior to deployment, they completed extensive briefings covering Election Day procedures, voting and counting protocols, and relevant national and international standards.

Earlier this month, the EU deployed a 14-member team of long-term observers to all ten regions. These observers are already working in the field and have met with various political parties and stakeholders as well as attended political rallies across the country.

Biedroń said the mission intends to contribute to transparency in the electoral process.

“We are here to observe these elections, we will not interfere in the process and I want to underline it very strong, our goal is to observe not to intervene,” the Chief Observer stated.

He described the team as a well-oiled machinery deployed to deliver the best assessment of the outcome of the pre-election, election and post-election periods.

“With a long-term presence in the field and the deployment of a substantial number of short-term observers, we aim to provide a well-informed, fact-based assessment of the process against Guyana’s national law, as well as regional and international standards to which Guyana is a party,” Biedroń said.

This mission was deployed at the invitation of the Government of Guyana. The Chief Observer will present the EOM’s preliminary findings in a public statement two days after the elections, followed by a final report, including recommendations for improving the electoral process, which will be published after the completion of the entire process.

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