# Guyana’s Irfaan Ali begins second term as oil wealth reshapes politics
President Irfaan Ali returned to office on 2025-09-07 for a second term after Guyana’s electoral commission certified his election victory and confirmed that his People’s Progressive Party secured a majority in parliament. The result extends a presidency shaped by the country’s expanding offshore oil economy, faster public spending and rising regional attention to the Essequibo territory, which Guyana administers but Venezuela claims.
Ali used his inauguration speech to cast the next five years as a period for national transformation. He promised to continue social programmes, expand development and turn the country’s resources and international partnerships into broader prosperity. That message fits a campaign built around the promise that oil revenue can lift living standards in a country that has moved quickly from relative obscurity to strategic importance.
The electoral commission said Ali had “secured a resounding victory,” with the PPP taking 36 of the 65 seats in parliament. That majority gives his government room to push the agenda he outlined, including public spending priorities already underway. AP reported that his administration expects free college tuition to begin this month, while Ali has also pledged to raise the monthly minimum wage, more than double pensions for people 65 and older to $500, and halve power bills by next year.
Those pledges come as Ali continues to oversee major infrastructure projects, including hospitals and highways. Supporters have credited him with directing some of the oil windfall into social programmes, while critics across the region are watching how that money is managed and how the government balances growth against longstanding political and territorial tensions.
The Essequibo region remains one of the most sensitive issues in Guyanese politics. It is administered by Guyana, but Venezuela continues to claim it, keeping the country’s territorial dispute active even as foreign investment and energy production accelerate.
Ali’s victory also carried a political contrast. His main opponent was Azruddin Mohamed, a wealthy businessman sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury along with his father and their gold-exporting company for public corruption roles. On Sunday, the U.S. State Department congratulated Ali and said it looked forward to working with his government on energy security and Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
For Ali, the second term begins with a stronger parliamentary base and a larger economic opportunity than any Guyanese administration has had in decades. The test now is whether the windfall can be translated into durable gains before the political and diplomatic pressures around the country’s oil wealth grow any sharper.
