“Absolutely not true” – Pres Ali on Carter Center’s claim of state resource use in PPP’s campaign

Days after the Carter Center, in its preliminary elections report, raised concerns about the use of state resources by the incumbent People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) in campaigning for the upcoming September 1 General and Regional Elections, President Irfaan Ali has clarified that the party is relying solely on its own resources.
In its pre-election statement issued earlier this week, the Carter Center highlighted issues including what it termed the “misuse of state resources”, which it says gives the ruling PPP/C an unfair advantage.
However, Ali, who is returning on the PPP/C ticket as the Presidential candidate for a second term, told reporters on Friday that it’s “absolutely not true.”

According to him, these accusations have always been levelled against incumbent regimes during every election cycle in the country. He went on to remind us that the PPP/C had hosted several successful fundraising activities over the past few months to secure funding for its campaign.
“Our party, as you know, might have been the only party that would have had so many fundraisers. You would have seen it all across the country. So, we’ve been able to raise enough resources with the love and support of the people, with the love and support of our supporters and members,” Ali stated.
On June 20, approximately 10,000 people attended the PPP/C fundraising dinner at the National Track and Field Facility in Leonora, West Coast Demerara. The event, which drew widespread participation, was also one of the largest seated dinner gatherings ever hosted in Guyana.
It was only topped by a fundraising dinner hosted by the party on June 27 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, where more than 12,000 persons attended.
The PPP/C had also held another successful fundraising dinner and gala at the Princess Ramada Hotel, Providence, on the East Bank of Demerara on July 12. Tickets for these dinner events were priced at $10,000 per person.
Additionally, the party also hosted a fundraising BBQ & Family Funday at the Everest Cricket Ground in Georgetown on June 21, which the PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo had hailed as a massive success.
“We have been able to raise enough resources to efficiently carry out our campaign and our work for these elections. So, there’s no need for state resources, and state resources have not been deployed to support our campaign,” Ali declared on Friday.
He was speaking with reporters after visiting the Guyana Defence Force’s Base Camp Ayanganna headquarters in Georgetown to observe voting activities as members of the Disciplined Services cast their ballots ahead of the September 1 General and Regional Elections.
In its pre-election statement, the Carter Center had specifically cited the announcement of the promotion of over 2800 Guyana Police Force (GPF) officers and making bridge crossings free from August 1 as measures that afforded the ruling party an unfair advantage.
But while these measures were implemented after July 30, they were in fact announced earlier in the year, even before the election date was set in May. Nevertheless, Jagdeo on Thursday said these pre-election findings by the United States-based Elections Observation Mission were strange “but no big deal”.
The PPP General Secretary pointed out that the party will continue to campaign based on its record and promises. “We make no apology for that. We campaign on keeping our promises,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, another issue that the Carter Center had raised in its statement was the overcompliance by local banks with the recent US sanctions against Guyanese businessman Azruddin Mohamed, who has founded the We Invest In Nationhood (WIN) party and is running as its Presidential candidate.
Asked about this during his engagement with the media on Friday, Ali underscored the importance of corresponding banking relations.
“Banks don’t operate in isolation of a global financial system. Our financial institutions are part of a global financial system. This is what people don’t understand. This is not a government-given instruction. These are banks operating within a global standard and within a global financial system that can penalise them… I warned as President, knowing the international system, that there are consequences,” he noted.
The Head of State went on to explain that politically exposed persons (PEP) have an even higher threshold when it comes to banking and financial transactions.
The personal accounts of around 40 WIN candidates, party members and associates were closed by several local commercial banks given their association with Mohamed, who is sanctioned by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for smuggling 10,000 kilograms (kg) of gold and avoiding the payment of more than US$50 million in duty taxes.
However, while the US Treasury Department has not clarified the extent of the banks’ liability when dealing with associates of sanctioned individuals, nor has it addressed whether such transactions pose a risk to the banks’ licences, the Guyana Association of Bankers Inc (GABI) has indicated that commercial banks are guided by strict regulatory obligations, including Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) requirements, as well as global risk management practices.
According to GABI, “These standards are critical to preserving financial system integrity, protecting depositors, and ensuring continued access to international financial markets. GABI remains committed to supporting a strong, inclusive, and compliant banking sector that serves the best interests of the Guyanese people and economy.”