GEORGETOWN, Guyana – September 7, 2025 – The Guyana Press Association (GPA) has issued a strongly worded statement congratulating President Dr. Irfaan Ali on his re-election, but also condemning his treatment of journalists and warning that media freedom is under strain in Guyana’s highly polarized environment.
While offering best wishes to the new administration, the GPA made clear that relations between the government and the press “must greatly improve” in the coming years. The association called for timely access to information, respect for journalistic work, and meaningful dialogue with the press corps. “The media has a key role to play in today’s society, and it cannot be one reduced to hostility,” the statement read.
The intervention follows a confrontation last Friday when President Ali publicly labelled senior journalist Travis Chase and others as “opposition-aligned journalists” outside the Guyana Elections Commission. The GPA condemned the remarks, describing them as an attack on Chase and the broader press.
The statement also highlighted escalating verbal abuse from governing party activists. Social media commentator and government contractor Mikhail Rodrigues, known online for his outspoken support of the PPP, was singled out for repeatedly harassing journalists, including Chase and Abena Rockcliffe, calling them “Maduro Puppets” while hurling expletives outside GECOM. The GPA noted that Rodrigues’ behavior was met with cheers from PPP supporters at the scene.
Condemning both the President’s labeling of journalists and Rodrigues’ “vile verbal abuse,” the GPA said no reporter should be intimidated for doing their job “without fear or favour.”
The association’s concerns echo those of several international observer groups, which flagged the toxic atmosphere facing journalists during Guyana’s September 1 elections. Observers warned that the climate of hostility undermines press freedom and the democratic process.
“The Guyana Press Association will continue to call on ALL politicians to respect journalists and their work,” the body concluded, underscoring that media workers remain essential watchdogs of democracy, not targets of partisan attack.
