Updated JanuaryMarch 10, 2020
Guyana: An Overview
Located on the north coast of South America, Englishspeaking Guyana has characteristics common of a
Caribbean nation because of its British colonial heritage—
the country achieved independence from Britain in 1966.
Guyana participates in Caribbean regional organizations
and forums, and its capital of Georgetown serves as
headquarters for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), a
regional integration organization.
Current congressional
interest in Guyana is focused on the conduct of general
elections planned for March 2020, at a time when the
country is poised to become a major oil producer.
Figure 1. Map of Guyana
conduct of the March 2, 2020, elections. Some Members of
Congress have expressed deep concern about allegations of
potential electoral fraud and have called on the Guyana
Elections Commission (GECOM) to not declare a winner
until the completion of a credible vote tabulation process.
Figure 1. Map of Guyana
system from independence until the early 1990s; the party
traditionally has had an Afro-Guyanese base of support. In
contrast, the AFC identifies as a multiracial party.
The opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C),
led by former President Bharrat Jagdeo (1999-2011), has 32
seats in the National Assembly. Traditionally supported by
Indo-Guyanese, the PPP/C governed Guyana from 1992
until its defeat in the 2015 elections.
Guyana at a Glance
Population: 782,000 (2018, IMF est.)
Ethnic groups: Indo-Guyanese, or those of East Indian
heritage, almost 40%; Afro-Guyanese, almost 30%; mixed,
20%; Amerindian, almost 11% (2012, CIA est. est. CIA)
Area: 83,000 square miles, about the size of Idaho
GDP: $3.9 billion (current prices, 2018 est., IMF, IMF est.)
Real GDP Growth: 4.1% (2018 est.); 4.4% (2019 est.) (IMF)
Per Capita GDP: $4,984 (2018 est., IMF, IMF est.)
Life Expectancy: 69.6 years (2017, WB)
Sources: International Monetary Fund (IMF); Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA), World Bank (WB).
Source: CRS.
Current ; World Bank (WB).
March 2020 Elections
Originally due by September 2020, Guyana held early
national elections on March 2, 2020, because the ruling
APNU/AFC coalition lost a no-confidence motion in
December 2018 by a single vote. A legal challenge to the
no-confidence vote ensued and ultimately made its way to
the Caribbean Court of Justice, which ruled in June 2019
that the vote was valid.
Source: CRS.
Political Environment
Guyana has a hybrid republican/parliamentary form of
government. The presidential candidate of the party or
coalition receiving the most votes becomes president; the
president in turn appoints the prime minister.
President David Granger leads a coalition that narrowly
won in 2015, with 33 of 65 seats in the unicameral National
Assembly. The coalition consists of Granger’s A
Partnership for National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance for
Change (AFC), led by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo.
The largest party in the APNU is the People’s National
Congress Reform (PNCR), which dominated the political
system from independence until the early 1990s; the party
traditionally has had an Afro-Guyanese base of support. In
contrast, the AFC identifies as a multiracial party.
March 2020 Elections
Originally due by September 2020, Guyana’s next national
elections are now scheduled for March 2, 2020, because the
ruling APNU/AFC coalition lost a no-confidence motion in
December 2018. The coalition lost the motion by a vote of
33-32 when an AFC member crossed the aisle to oppose the
government. A legal challenge to the no-confidence vote
ensued and ultimately made its way to the Caribbean Court
of Justice (CCJ). In June 2019, the CCJ ruled that the noconfidence vote was valid. The opposition had wanted
elections to be held by September 2019, three months after
the CCJ’s ruling. President Granger delayed announcement
of the vote until the Guyana Elections Commission
indicated in September 2019 that it would be ready to hold
the elections by February 2020. The government has
approved several international groups to serve as electoral
observers, including the Carter Center, the Organization of
American States, and the European Union.
President Granger is running for reelection as the
presidential candidate of the APNU/AFC coalition, with
AFC Member of Parliament and Minister of Security
Khemraj Ramjattan the candidate for prime minister.
Granger was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in
November 2018 and received treatment in Cuba; in October
2019, Guyanese officials announced that Granger was in
remission. The PPP/C has selected Irfan Ali as its
presidential candidate. Ali currently serves as shadow
finance minister and previously served as housing minister.
Past general elections in Guyana suggest the 2020 race will
be close, but some observers, such as the Economist
Intelligence Unit, maintain that the APNU/AFC’s
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Guyana: An Overview
multiparty and cross-ethnic coalition may sustain the
Granger government in power
In the March 2, 2020, election, President Granger (running
for reelection) was the presidential candidate of the
APNU/AFC coalition, with AFC Member of Parliament
and Minister of Security Khemraj Ramjattan the candidate
for prime minister. Granger was diagnosed with nonHodgkin’s lymphoma in November 2018 and received
treatment in Cuba; in October 2019, Guyanese officials
announced that Granger was in remission. The PPP/C
selected Irfan Ali as its presidential candidate. Ali currently
serves as shadow finance minister and previously served as
housing minister. Recent elections suggested that the 2020
race would be close.
Final elections result have not been released because of
alleged discrepancies and allegations of fraud in one of the
country’s 10 administrative regions, Region 4. On March 6,
several international election observer missions—from the
Carter Center, the Organization of American States, the
European Union (EU), and the Commonwealth—issued a
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Guyana: An Overview
joint statement maintaining that the tabulation of results for
Region 4 was interrupted and remains incomplete and
calling for election officials to resume the transparent
tabulation of votes. A legal challenge by the opposition led
to a court injunction stopping the GECOM’s release of
election results until the court determines whether election
officials will need to resume verification of the votes in
Region 4. Political tensions have increased in Guyana; one
protestor was killed and several others injured on March 7.
Oil Changes Guyana’s Economic Outlook
Guyana’s economy traditionally has been based on
agriculture (rice and sugar) and mining (gold and bauxite),
but it is being bolstered by the discovery of significant
amounts of offshore oil. ExxonMobil leads a consortium
that includes Hess and China National Offshore Oil
Corporation and has been involved in oil and gas
exploration in Guyana since 2008. Since 2015, the
consortium has identified 1516 commercially viable
discoveries in the Stabroek Block, about 120 miles
offshore. Production began in December 2019 and is
expected to reach 120,000 barrels of oil per day (b/d) within
several months and more than 750,000 b/d by 2025.
Recoverable oil is estimated at more than 6 billion barrels.
The discovery of offshore oil vastly changes the economic
development prospects of Guyana, which used to be one of
the hemisphere’s poorest countries. Economic growth
averaged almost 3.2% from 2015 to 2018 and is forecast to
be 4.4% this year, according to the International Monetary
Fund (IMF). With the beginning of oil production,
however, the IMF is forecasting almost 86% growth in
2020, with GDP almost doubling to $8.1 billion and per
capita income growing to over $10,000.
Guyana’s development of its oil resources has raised
concerns about corruption and the tendency of some oil-rich
countries to favor oil sector development over other
economic sectors. In early 2019, Guyana’s National
Assembly approved legislation providing a framework for
the establishment of a Natural Resource Fund for managing
Guyana’s oil wealth. The IMF welcomed the action but
called for Guyana to take additional actions, including
establishing a fiscal responsibility framework to avoid
fiscal deficits; promoting effective, transparent management
of the oil wealth; and strengthening anti-corruption efforts.
U.S.-Guyana Relations
In the aftermath of the March 2, 2020, elections, U.S.
Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch joined the heads of mission
from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the EU to issue a
joint statement on March 6 expressing “deep concern over
credible allegations of electoral fraud.” The ambassadors
called on President Granger to avoid a transition of
government, “which we believe would be unconstitutional
as it would be based on a vote tabulation process that
lacked credibility and transparency.”
U.S. relations with Guyana have improved since the early
1990s, when the government moved away from its socialist
orientation and one-party domination of the political system
and embraced a market economy and free and fair
democratic elections. According to the State Department,
U.S. policy toward Guyana centers on democracy
promotion and civil society development, economic growth,
and the promotion of security and stability.
Bilateral relations are characterized by close security
cooperation through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative
(CBSI) and expanding trade and investment in the energy
sector. As noted above, ExxonMobil and Hess are currently
involved in the development of Guyana’s offshore oil
reserves. Reflecting growing U.S. commercial interest in
Guyana, an American Chamber of Commerce in Guyana
was launched in August 2018.
Trade. The United States ran a trade surplus of $287540
million with Guyana in 2018, with U.S. exports valued at
$540672 million, up 4324% from 2017 (led by machinery,
and
iron/steel pipes for oil drilling, and electrical machinery)
and ) and U.S. imports valued at
almost $253140 million (led by
gold, seafood, and aluminum ores, and
gold). In 1988, Guyana
became a beneficiary of the
Caribbean Basin Economic
Recovery Act (CBERA), a
preferential trade program for
Caribbean imports. In 2000,
it became a beneficiary of the
Caribbean Basin Trade
Partnership Act (CBTPA), a
program that provides
enhanced tariff treatment for certain
imports from the
region, including goods made with U.S.
yarns, fabrics, and
threads. CBERA has no set expiration
date; CBTPA expires in September 2020
in September 2020. Legislation has been introduced in both
houses (H.R. 991 and S. 2473) to extend the CBTPA until
September 2030.
U.S. Foreign Aid. U.S. foreign assistance to Guyana
includes a small bilateral aid program to improve the
capacity of Guyana’s security forces to police its border and
provide security, as well as larger spigots of assistance
through global and regional programs. According to the
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S
aid to Guyana amounted to $5.44.7 million in FY2017FY2018 (latest
full year available), with almost half of that for programs to
combat HIV/AIDStop sectors including HIV/AIDS,
basic education, and basic health. Guyana has received
assistance to
combat HIV/AIDS over the past 16 yearssince 2004 under the
President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The Peace
Corps has a program in Guyana currently staffed with over
60 volunteers working on education, health, and
environmental projects.
Guyana also receives U.S. assistance through the CBSI, a
program begun in 2009 to help combat the drug trade and
other transnational crime and improve citizen security.
Support for Guyana under the CBSI has included
the
provision of patrol boats to increase the defense
force’s
maritime operations capability;
a community-based
program to reduce crime and
violence and increase
opportunities for youth;
support for effective criminal
investigations; and
workforce development and educational
support for atrisk youth.
The Peace Corps has a program in Guyana currently staffed
with over 60 volunteers working on education, health, and
environmental projects.
at-risk youth.
According to USAID, the United States also provided
almost $3.6 million in humanitarian assistance from
FY2017 to FY2019 through international organizations for
Venezuelan migrants in Guyana. As of early 2019, there
were over 36,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants in
Guyana, according to the United Nations.
Congressional Interest. As Guyana approaches its March
2020 elections, some Members of Congress have stressed
the need for the vote to be free, fair, and fully transparent,
particularly as the next government is poised to gain
considerable proceeds from oil. In addition, legislation has
been introduced in both houses to extend the CBTPA until
September 2030 (H.R. 991 and S. 2473)some 22,000 Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Guyana.
Mark P. Sullivan, Specialist in Latin American Affairs
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Guyana: An Overview
Disclaimer
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