GEORGETOWN – In a stunning barometer of political momentum ahead of Guyana’s next general elections, the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) scored a landslide victory in the 2023 Local Government Elections – a result that has left the opposition reeling. Preliminary figures from the June 2023 municipal and neighborhood council polls showed the PPP/C winning control of 66 out of 80 Local Authority Areas (LAAs) nationwide, a dramatic increase from the 52 areas it held after the last local elections in 2018. The main opposition coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), managed to secure just 14 councils, down sharply from 23 in 2018. PPP/C General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo hailed the outcome as “a wipeout” of the opposition at the local level, and many political observers agree the results spell big trouble for APNU going into the 2025 general election.

The PPP/C not only dominated rural councils in its traditional strongholds, but also made significant inroads into areas historically loyal to the opposition. Notably, the governing party won outright majorities in 7 of the 10 townships (municipalities), including for the first time the towns of Mabaruma, Mahdia, and Bartica, which are in regions long considered opposition turf. In Bartica (Region 7), the PPP/C flipped the council by securing 1,787 votes to APNU’s 1,601 – a remarkable swing from 2018 when APNU held sway. PPP/C also doubled its vote count in the capital city Georgetown compared to the last local election, though APNU narrowly retained a majority on the Georgetown city council. Still, even the opposition’s grip on Georgetown has loosened – PPP/C won 7 of 15 constituencies in the city, up from just 2 five years prior. In several Georgetown wards, younger voters turned out in higher numbers, drawn by PPP/C’s message of urban development and perhaps disenchanted with the city’s stagnant leadership.

The opposition’s post-mortem of the local elections has been fraught. APNU leaders initially downplayed the results, arguing that local turnout was low and thus not a definitive gauge of national sentiment. However, that narrative was undercut by their own actions: APNU promptly demanded recounts in a handful of close races it lost (such as in Mahdia, which PPP/C clinched by a mere 3 votes), and even alleged irregularities in certain areas. By September 2023, the opposition was calling for a probe into supposed procedural issues, after one local GECOM clerk was charged with a minor infraction. Yet independent observers and the national election commission have stated the LGE was free and fair overall, with only isolated incidents. Many analysts see the opposition’s stance as an attempt to explain away a poor performance. “The margin was too large to blame on anything but voter preference,” said one elections expert, noting PPP/C’s gains were widespread and not confined to any one region.

PPP/C officials, for their part, have been buoyant but cautious in interpreting the results. President Irfaan Ali thanked voters for the overwhelming support and suggested it reflected approval of his administration’s development agenda. Since taking office in 2020, the PPP/C government has channeled significant resources into local projects – from roads to potable water systems – and it campaigned on that record. “People can see the transformations in their communities, and they voted for more,” Ali said at a victory rally. Jagdeo, the party’s secretary, was more blunt about the political implications: he argued that the PPP/C’s “sweet victory” in local polls foreshadows major problems for APNU in 2025. Historically, local election trends in Guyana have indeed been harbingers of the subsequent general election. In this case, PPP/C not only held its base but encroached into the opposition’s – a scenario that, if repeated nationally, would lead to a lopsided general election outcome.

The opposition’s internal turmoil is compounding its worries. Coming out of the LGE drubbing, APNU’s coalition partner AFC openly questioned the coalition’s viability, and some APNU figures quietly conceded that the leadership needed a shake-up to reconnect with voters. So far, no major changes have occurred at the top of the opposition, but pressure is building. Meanwhile, PPP/C is not resting: the party has since dispatched teams to even those few councils it lost, aiming to address local issues and perhaps win over residents by 2025. In Georgetown and Linden (an opposition stronghold town where PPP/C also improved its vote share), government outreach has increased through ministerial visits and promises of new development projects. These moves put the opposition on the defensive on their home turf.

As Guyana inches closer to a general election, the local election landslide stands as a stark warning to the opposition: voters rewarded performance and punished stagnation. If APNU and its allies cannot find a compelling message – and a unified front – to counter the PPP/C’s momentum, they risk a similar fate on the bigger stage.