PRESIDENT Irfaan Ali’s announcement that Guyana’s General and Regional Elections will be held on September 1, 2025, arrives at a pivotal moment in the country’s democratic evolution.

His pathway to elections characterised by “love, unity, strength of character, and dignity” instead of “hate, division, and indignity” is not mere political rhetoric—it is a needed prescription for a nation still recuperating from the democratic injuries caused during the 2020 electoral crisis.

The President’s demand that elections “must be about performance, competition of ideas and vision” and “track record, not empty rhetoric” is a high standard which all political actors have to adopt if Guyana is not to relive the bitter experience of five years ago.

The spectre of the 2020 elections hangs over the upcoming polls, both as a warning and as a tribute to Guyanese democratic resilience. The five-month impasse that followed those elections, with the APNU+AFC’s naked attempts at manipulation of results and frustration of the popular will, demonstrated just how fragile democratic institutions can be in the face of determined efforts to undermine them.

The fact that persons are still on trial for their purported involvement in electoral fraud is a stark reminder that the repercussions of undermining democracy last far beyond the current political moment.

The ongoing trial, despite being as important as they are for accountability, also highlights the imperative to make sure the next elections occur with the highest degree of integrity and transparency.

The involvement of young people in political debate, despite unfortunate attempts to silence the then PPP opposition in 2020, also augurs well for a democratic tradition breaking free from the constraints of its troubled past.

Yet, President Ali’s appeal for unity and peaceful competition is confronted with daunting tasks. Deep-seated suspicion created by the 2020 crisis cannot be reversed by presidential exhortations. The opposition has to show that it has learned the lessons of 2020 and is willing to accept the results of elections, and the government has to ensure that GECOM can function with utmost autonomy and transparency.

The continued interest of the international community, which in 2020 was absolutely vital, will likely still be required to guarantee confidence in the electoral process.

As Guyana approaches these watershed elections, the country finds itself at a fork in the road between its turbulent electoral history and a more stable, democratic tomorrow.

President Ali’s vision of elections founded on performance and ideas instead of rhetoric and division is the correct blueprint, yet it will need to be followed through on by all political stakeholders in order to realise this vision.

The ultimate trial will come not in the rhetoric of election speeches, but in what is done when votes are counted and winners are announced. Guyana’s democracy is entitled to no less than elections that truly reflect the peaceful desires of its citizens, conducted to the dignity and integrity to which the nation’s democratic ideals entitle it.