Guyana Opens Polls to Elect Leader Amid Recent Oil Discovery

The South American nation of Guyana has opened its voting polls on Monday to elect a new leader after the recent discovery of a large amount of oil off the country's shores.

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The top contenders for the country's leadership will be current President David Granger and his rival Irfaan Ali.

Mr Granger's coalition says that if elected, it will distribute some of the oil wealth directly to citizens through cash transfers "for the purchase of essential items". It has also promised "conditional cash transfers" for single parents, public transit and elder care, among other items.

According to reports, the new 65-member National Assembly will be elected for a five-year term, and the leader of the largest coalition or party becomes the country's president.

Guyana, which shares a border with Venezuela, Brazil, and Suriname, is on par to becoming one of the richest countries per capita after the discovery of this offshore oil.

The economy is predicted to grow 85.6% in 2020, up from 4.4% in 2019.

Over eight billion barrels of of recoverable oil and gas have been discovered off the country's shores. Under a 40-year deal signed with ExxonMobil Corp and its partners in 2016, Guyana is expected to receive an estimated $168bn in revenue, more than 120 times the country's annual budget.

"These elections are not only critical, they are also consequential," said Christopher Ram, a local newspaper columnist based in Guyana's capital Georgetown.

"Each of the major parties is determined to keep the other away from control of [the] wealth," that is expected to come via the oil discoveries, he added in an interview with Al-Jazeera. 

Monday's election comes at a pivotal moment as the first wave of oil production gets under way.