GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AFP) — Guyana will hold general elections on September 1 to elect a new premier and Parliament, President Irfaan Ali said Sunday.

He made the announcement during a flag-raising ceremony marking the 59th anniversary of the Latin American country’s independence from Britain.

It also coincided with elections in neighbouring Venezuela, which for the first time voted on a representative in Essequibo — a disputed oil-rich territory administered by Guyana but claimed by Caracas.

Ali, in office since 2020, said he would soon dissolve the 65-member Parliament, without specifying a date.

Guyana’s electoral system is proportional representation, and Ali is expected to run for re-election with his People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which holds 33 of the 65 seats in Parliament.

The top candidates of each party’s list are the presidential candidates, and Ali is expected to face off against Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, a former academic specialising in international relations.

In a country where politics adheres to ethnic lines, Ali’s party mainly enjoys support from voters of Indian descent, while Norton’s People’s National Congress-Reform (PNCR) is largely backed by descendants of African slaves.

Ali’s election in 2020 was turbulent, with the electoral commission taking five months to declare the winner while both the Government and the Opposition claimed victory.

His tough stance against neighbouring Venezuela over Essequibo has earned him some popularity. But his Government is also mired in accusations of corruption and mismanagement of oil revenues, and is criticised for its lack of spending in social sectors.

Guyana has the largest per capita oil reserves in the world. It currently produces just over 600,000 barrels of oil per day but is expected to more than double its production by 2030.

However, more than half of the population lives below the poverty line.