Guyana Elections
The results of Guyana’s elections- the first after the recent discovery of massive oil reserves- is being watched by the international community.
Guyana
Guyana is a small English speaking country in the northern part of South America. It was a former British colony and one of the poorest in South America. The major ethnic groups in the country are Afro-Guyanese (descended from enslaved black people) and the Indo-Guyanese (descended from the indentured Indian labourers).
Oil Reserve
Offshore oil reserves were discovered in 2015 by ExxonMobil. It is expected to be among the world’s largest, holding more than 8 million barrels worth of oil. It is expected to bring in 168 billion USD worth of revenue to the Guyanese government.
Current Issue
After the oil discovery, the March 2nd elections were the first in the country. The government that gets elected to office will be the first to manage the funds from the oil revenues. Also, the IMF had predicted that the country’s economy would grow by 85% this year. The current issue is that the Election Commission released the election results without verifying the votes at over half the poll stations. The High Court upheld an injunction blocking the declaration of the election winner.
