GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) —Guyana’s  Incumbent President Irfaan Ali was among five presidential candidates who have so far cast their ballots in Guyana’s general and regional elections on Monday.

Apart from Ali, who is representing the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) the other candidates are Aubrey Norton of the coalition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Nigel Hughes of the Alliance for  Change (AFC), Azruddin Mohamed of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party and the Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) candidate, Amanza Walton-Desir.

The leader of the Assembly for Liberty & Prosperity (ALP) movement, Dr Simona Broomes, is yet to cast a vote.

Ali, speaking to reporters after casting his ballot, said he is confident of victory with the ruling party having conducted a “fantastic campaign”.

“We ran a very positive campaign. A campaign based on track record, a campaign based on trust and commitment…and unity,” Ali said, urging supporters to “come out in your numbers and seal this victory”.

“We are very confident about the victory…but as I said, sealing the victory is important and that requires all our supporters to come out and seal the victory with their vote.”

President Ali said he was also concerned about the incident that occurred on Sunday when the members of the joint security forces and electoral officials came under gunfire from the Venezuelan shoreline.

“It is concerning…the security forces are on full alert…and we have to understand the threat of Venezuela. We have been speaking about this throughout the campaign that Venezuela is a threat, and we have to look at every single connection to that threat, and the security forces are on top of it,” Ali told reporters.

After casting his ballot, Norton told reporters he was concerned at the positioning of the voting booth, saying that it did not adequately conceal the voter’s body.

“Outside of that, it looks normal,” he said, telling reporters that the elections are of great significance in managing Guyana’s oil wealth responsibly in the future.

“These elections are critical because [they’re] an opportunity to ensure there is a reallocation of the resources that come from oil to the people of Guyana. It is the first general election after the utilisation of oil resources, and we’ve had the opportunity to show the Guyanese people that resources from oil and gas are not reaching them,” Norton said.

Regarding the shooting incident involving the Venezuelans, Norton said, “I’ve always argued that we need to have technology installed at the border areas so that we can monitor and respond to developments.”

Mohamed, who was among those casting his ballot early after the polling station at the Eccles Nursery School, East Bank Demerara, opened, described the process as “a bit slow” but urged voters to carry out their duty.

“I hope that it can be faster throughout the country because we want everyone to cast their vote before 6:00 pm (local time). I’d like to encourage everyone to come out early and exercise their right,” Mohamed said.

For his part, Hughes, who voted at the Lions Club of Central Demerara Building in Mocha, East Bank Demerara, said the process was “flawless” despite minor discomforts at the polling station.