GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali on Tuesday said he expects “the trend will be clear” as the counting of ballots in Monday’s general and regional elections continues across Guyana.

An estimated 757,690 persons were listed as being eligible to vote in the election which was held on a public holiday.

Ali, who is heading the incumbent People’s Progressive Party /Civic (PPP/C) as its presidential candidate, said that he also wanted to congratulate voters on the “peaceful electoral process” on Monday, during which thousands of Guyanese exercised their democratic right.

The Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has been posting to its official website the statements of poll (SOPs) for the various districts and the tabulation of the votes is also underway.

“By the end of today, the trend will be clear, and we will be in a position to move forward together,” Ali said in a statement, urging all Guyanese “to celebrate our democratic values as we open another chapter in the development of our beautiful country”.

GECOM’s public relations officer, Yolanda Ward, has already said that the population should await only the official results of the elections that are likely to be released on Thursday.

“GECOM takes the opportunity once again to appeal to all stakeholders to accept only the results of the elections that are posted on GECOM’s website in the form of statement of poll to the official declarations made by…the returning officers…and the national results to be declared by GECOM.”

Ward said the publication of fake results “will be put to the Guyana Police Force for investigation”.

Six parties — the ruling People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), the coalition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), We Invest in Nationhood (WIN), Alliance For Chang (AFC), Forward Guyana Movement and Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity — contested the elections.

Six candidates contested the position of president during the elections. They are the incumbent President Ali, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton, attorney Nigel Hughes of the AFC, Azruddin Mohamed of WIN, Amanza Walton-Desir of the Forward Guyana Movement and the leader of the Assembly for Liberty & Prosperity (ALP) movement, Dr Simona Broomes.

GECOM said that there were 2,790 polling stations countrywide.

Meanwhile, the two major parties say they believe that the voting was low, but remained confident of victory.

PPP/C General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo said, “There is a lower voter turnout than in 2020 but it’s worst in some areas and the city is one of those.”

However, he said as the unofficial results come in, it suggest that the ruling party would be cruising to victory when GECOM declares the official results.

“The trend that we see now confirms what we knew before the elections and we said to some people, and we expect that trend to hold from the polls that we had,” he said.

But Norton said that while there was a lower turnout, reports indicate that it was more prevalent in PPP areas.

“The turnout is low. In our strongholds, we’ve seen reasonable turnout. We didn’t see the kind of turnout that you would normally see in PPP strongholds,” the APNU leader said.

Hughes said the low voter turnout was quite a strong statement from the population, who he believes would have “rejected most of the existing parties that offered themselves and, therefore, we have to look at what might have led to the lack of interest in the process when the country has so much money”.

“A low turnout is a rejection of all of the competitors,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), which deployed approximately 200 observers across the country, said it “notes that the electoral process was free, fair and carried out in an atmosphere devoid of fear or intimidation”.

“ERC observers reported that polling stations were generally well organised, with procedures being followed, and that GECOM staff displayed professionalism and courtesy in the execution of their duties. The ERC emphasises the importance of the ballot counting and verification of statements of poll being conducted with the same level of transparency and professionalism, and the official results to be made public within the shortest possible time.”

The ERC said that in anticipation of the official results being delivered by GECOM, it is calling on all the political leaders “to appeal to their supporters to remain calm, respect and avoid actions that would build tensions in our society”.