President Dr. Irfaan Ali has pledged to dedicate the next four years of his presidency to bringing Guyanese communities closer together, declaring that economic growth must be accompanied by national unity, inclusion and the continued protection of democratic freedoms.
The President made the commitment during a Facebook Live address on Sunday evening, on the eve of the 34th anniversary of Guyana’s October 5, 1992 General and Regional Elections.
“Next four-plus years of my life as your President will be dedicated to every village, walking every community, finding every opportunity to bring this country and to seal this country together,” Ali said towards the conclusion of his address.
Ali, who secured a second term following the September 2025 elections, used Sunday’s address to reflect extensively on the significance of the 1992 polls while arguing that Guyana’s present period of rapid economic growth presents a new challenge, ensuring that prosperity reaches citizens across political, ethnic, religious and geographic lines.
“Thirty-four years ago, Guyana reclaimed its democratic voice. Today, our task is to ensure that every Guyanese can see themselves in the future we are building,” the President said.
October 5, 1992 is widely regarded as a watershed moment in Guyana’s political history. The Carter Center, which observed the elections, describes them as Guyana’s first credible elections in 28 years. Its records show that the polls were accepted by the political parties and international observers as free and fair and resulted in a peaceful change of government.
The People’s Progressive Party, led by Dr. Cheddi Jagan, secured approximately 53 per cent of the vote, while the incumbent People’s National Congress, led by then-President Desmond Hoyte, received about 42 per cent.
Hoyte subsequently accepted the result and Jagan was sworn in as President on October 9, 1992.
In his address Sunday, Ali characterised the 1992 election as the culmination of years of struggle over Guyana’s electoral system, political freedoms and worsening economic conditions.
“The Guyanese people did not inherit democracy on October 5th, 1992. They fought for it, they suffered for it, they sacrificed for it, and ultimately they reclaimed it,” Ali said.
He pointed to electoral reforms introduced ahead of the vote, including the counting of ballots at polling stations, a revised voters’ list, changes to the Elections Commission and the presence of international and local observers.
Historical records from the Carter Center similarly document its role between 1990 and 1992 in facilitating reforms that included counting ballots at polling places, updating the registration list and restructuring the Elections Commission.
The 1992 elections were not without turmoil. Ali recalled violence outside the Elections Commission headquarters and unrest in Georgetown as the votes were being counted.
The Carter Center’s historical account confirms that violence erupted outside the Elections Commission building during the counting process, temporarily interrupting the exercise. Former United States President Jimmy Carter, who headed the observer mission, subsequently played a role in efforts to have order restored and the count resumed.
Ali said the eventual completion of the elections and peaceful transfer of power represented a triumph of the ballot over violence.
“The mob did not defeat the ballot. The violence did not defeat democracy. The past did not defeat the future,” he said.
‘It is not enough to grow’
While much of the President’s address looked back at the events surrounding 1992, he also sought to connect the anniversary to Guyana’s present economic circumstances.
Ali said the country of today is vastly different from the Guyana of the early 1990s, with the economy now experiencing growth that would have been difficult to imagine three decades ago.
However, he warned that the creation of wealth brings its own responsibilities.
“It is not enough to grow. We must grow together. It is not enough to build. We must build a society in which every Guyanese feels that there is a place for them,” the President said.
He added that it was also insufficient for Guyana simply to accumulate wealth, arguing that those resources must translate into improved living standards, greater opportunities and a more secure future for citizens.
Ali tied that objective to his administration’s One Guyana initiative, which he said should ensure that development benefits people regardless of race, religion, political affiliation, social class or where they live.
He acknowledged Guyana’s longstanding ethnic and political divisions but argued that political disagreement should not prevent citizens from finding common ground on issues of national importance.
“We can have different political loyalties and still share one national destiny,” Ali said.
The President also cautioned Guyanese against allowing social media to deepen divisions, saying online platforms should not become instruments for spreading hatred or distorting how citizens relate to each other.
“Social media is not a country’s life. It is the people,” he said, urging Guyanese to focus instead on their collective responsibility to build the country.
Ali paid tribute to political activists, trade unionists, religious organisations, journalists, workers, members of civil society, the diaspora and others who participated in the struggle surrounding democratic reforms.
He said protecting the right of Guyanese to freely choose their government remains one of the most important obligations inherited from that period.
“The men and women who struggled for October 5th did not struggle so that our generation could inherit democracy and another could squander it,” Ali said.
The President said the anniversary should therefore be viewed not only as an occasion to remember the past, but as a commitment to ensuring democracy, opportunity and national unity endure.
“October 5th gave us back our vote, our voice, our freedom, and restored hope,” he said. “Let us use that voice to build a country that is truly one people, one nation, and one destiny.”
The Carter Center, which returned to Guyana to observe the September 2025 elections, said recently that its relationship with the country dates back to the reforms surrounding the 1992 vote. It has since observed elections in Guyana in 2001, 2006, 2015, 2020 and 2025.
