THE country is a hive of massive political activities even though it is relatively quiet. At the same time Guyana is tense with political parties putting their trust and faith in the electorate which they feel will vote them into the government.

Each political party contesting the general and regional elections tomorrow are meeting to ensure that they have people in place to monitor the polls, work as party agents, and man the various elections centre.

The race is on to see whom the people will give the management of the economy to over the next five years.

Judging from the mood of the people and thousands of interviews, it is going to be the incumbent People’s Progressive Party Civic without a shadow of a doubt. The country cannot afford to choose anything else at this watershed moment tomorrow. They can’t afford to gamble with their socio-economic future and wealth, which is stable in the ruling party’s hand.

Even though there are challenges, the public will choose the best option for continued growth, progress, and development. The PPP’s campaign was energetic, youthful, progressive, futuristic, manifesto-centred, and popular.  It had the right blend of spicy entertainment and plans to attract larger crowds. It did not preach racism and other old themes.

It stayed far from generally criticising the opposition candidates personally and focused on comparing the plans or lack thereof announced by the opposing candidates with their bold manifesto. The campaign had a central position on newcomers Azruddin Mohamed and Norton. Almost every candidate that mounted the PPP stage in every part of the country told the crowd not to trust them and to do an analysis of their plans. This was backed by facts most times.

Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, admittedly, was the glue of the PPP’s campaign.  He charmed the whole country with his weekly press conferences and knew how to manoeuvre the tricky Guyanese media.

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali did exactly what was expected of him. He delivered the high-energy, sober, and down-to-earth speeches to audiences. At times, he delivered some stinging criticisms of Norton and Mohamed, proving that they were novices in the race and could not have come close to him. Ali’s performance was excellent and stellar during the campaign season of 2025 and that alone is the reason why he will be elected again on Monday.

PNC/APNU’s Aubrey Norton ran a lacklustre campaign despite its attempts at entertainment. It just didn’t deliver the high energy and vibes like the PPP’s campaign.

While it didn’t attract large numbers of audiences, its message was based upon change and corruption of the PPP in government. It made all the right commitments in terms of promises and plans. The only problem was they seemed to be unreasonable and unrealistic, and generally too good to be true. They seemed to be farfetched when one looks at the record of the PNC and APNU+AFC administration in office, which Norton tried to stay away from as much as possible.

The campaign was hurt by the former prime minister Hamilton Green’s earlier statement about rigging to get in power and never really recovered from the scandals surrounding its leader’s alleged racism, discrimination, sexual assault, and bitterness.

Norton did not get the financial backing or support of his traditional party membership in his bid to become president. It was cringe-worthy to see the desperation play out week after week as people invaded the party just to secure fame and prominence at Norton’s expense.

Norton did not have an outstanding candidate list except for those two lawyers, who are questionable as in what they bring to the PNC and APNU and how long they were in the struggle of politics to be given a seat at Norton’s table.

The PNC and APNU are declining. Its showing at the local government elections was a hint that they would lose the next three elections if they did not catch themselves and change course. They did not, so inevitably, this would be the worst performance shown at a general election Monday.

The PNC/APNU needs an intervention after its pending  defeat. This was not the campaign that the public expected. It was dry, dull, and had many cracks in it to be considered the PNC/APUN’s campaign.

Mohamed sent shockwaves throughout the political scene with his announcement that he would run for the presidency earlier this year. He opened a can of worms with his candidacy because it was laughable and extremely ad hoc. He could hardly speak and had little knowledge of anything that had to do with government, governance, and politics, but he was out to get the support from both the PPP and PNC bases, thus forming the ideal third force.

He did get the seeming support of the PNC and APNU, which stayed clear of criticising him publicly. Nobody with sense would support him or no one from the PPP.

Nonetheless, he pulled crowds where he could and delivered where he could. Mostly, people just went to the meeting for money and laughter. His general secretary would entertain the crowds with comedic banter while pretending to understand or care about the issues that were raised.

Mohamed’s campaign faced challenges after challenges. He stands accused of gold smuggling, tax evasion, and other serious crimes.

Yet still, the so-called scrapes and some Guyanese support him, mostly those from PNC and APNU. His campaign found a niche and will exploit it at the polls.

Mohamed will lose to Ali because their entire focus has been around Ali and Jagdeo. He has spent little time on policies and plans.

Little time tackling the issues that Guyanese are concerned about at the polls. Not enough time being a serious contender for government and enough time delivering blow after blow to his campaign.

The 2025 campaign by the Mohameds was high maintenance and exciting, especially getting to witness Mohamed whine and complain constantly about victimisation.

The AFC’s shameful showing in terms of the election campaign confirmed the fact that that party and its existence are at an end. Nobody attends the meetings of the AFC despite it having a popular candidate, Nigel Hughes. The party did not have the financial backing of the donors. Its campaign was not even an attempt at getting the support in various areas. People rejected the AFC and will solidify this again on Monday.

Guyanese will have the final say in the elections on Monday when they vote. The public must come out in their numbers to ensure that democracy prevails, and government is lawfully elected.

Speak with your ballots and speak resoundingly. Let no party come between you and your vote.