With the September 1 General and Regional Elections less than two months away, support continues to pour in for President Dr Irfaan Ali to be re-elected for a second term in office. Ali, along with Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips as the Prime Ministerial Candidate once again, will be leading the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) ticket at the upcoming polls. Over the past few weeks, President Ali has received endorsements from a cross section of stakeholders. Only on Friday, the Head of State travelled to Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) to attend the South Rupununi District Council’s (SRDC) General meeting held in Aishalton Village. SRDC is the legally constituted representative institution of 21 villages in the South Rupununi.
While there, leaders from the 21 villages in the South Rupununi declared their support for President Ali and the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) in the upcoming general and regional elections.
In a video shared on Facebook, one of the leaders read out an endorsement letter, stating “We, the Toshaos in the South Rupununi, endorsed Dr Irfaan Ali for the second term, and the PPP/C enjoys our full and undivided support in this year’s 2025 elections. The Government deserves our support as they have delivered all of the promises they made in their manifesto.”
The indigenous leader went onto to call upon all villagers in the 21 communities across the South Rupununi to unanimously “embrace the plans and projects” of the PPP/C to continue the development that has been ongoing over the past five years.
“As leaders, we had comprehensive discussions with the President and [are] satisfied that our future with the PPP/C is secured without a doubt, and prosperity will be achieved. Let us move forward together with the PPP/C for a better and brighter Guyana,” the village leader stated.
Some of the South Rupununi Indigenous leaders who have endorsed President Dr Irfaan Ali on Friday
Linden Agriculture & Forest Producers
Meanwhile, interim Chairperson of the Linden Agriculture & Forest Producers Co-op Society, Lynette Benn, has also endorsed President Ali for a second term in office.
In a statement on Friday, Benn said this endorsement comes in wake of the significant interventions made in the forestry sector by the Ali-led Government. She pointed out that under the previous administration, the forestry sector was in a decline due to the poor policies that were introduced to this sector.
“Community logging associations were experiencing difficulties in accessing markets for their forest produce, which forced many small loggers on the breadline,” the Linden Forestry Co-op Chair stated.
According to Benn, in the last five years, the forestry sector has seen tremendous growth due to the direct interventions made by President Ali and the PPP/C.
“Under President Ali’s leadership, several initiatives have positively impacted the forestry sector. These initiatives were designed to guarantee that community associations dependent on logging, were able to become financially stable and stimulate local economies. They encompassed improved access to markets as well as the rehabilitation and construction of forest access roads.”
“President Alli’s endorsement for a second term is significantly influenced by his administration’s proactive approach to the forestry sector. These initiatives foster economic development and community engagement and has created a pathway towards a brighter future for the forestry sector,” Benn stated.
The Linden Forestry Co-op Chair went onto to encourage other small loggers in the forestry sector, to support President Ali so that they can work together to ensure a viable sector.
This endorsement from the Chairperson of the Linden Agriculture & Forest Producers Co-op Society is significant especially since the township is traditionally known to be a political stronghold of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) – the leading party in the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) opposition faction.
In fact, the PNC/R’s support base has been dwindling with several of its senior members breaking ties – many leaving to join the PPP/C.
Among those crossovers are former Member of Parliament and PNC General Secretary, Geeta Chandan-Edmond; former PNC Executive, James Bond; Regional Chairman and Vice Chairman for Region Four Daniel Seeram and Samuel Sandy, and Dr Richard Van-West Charles, who is the son-in-law of former President and founder of the PNC, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham. Moreover, former Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs and Vice-President under the coalition Government, Sydney Allicock, has also declared his allegiance to the PPP/C.
