GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – The sun had barely begun to sink over the Atlantic when the Kitty Market Square exploded into song, colour, and chants of “Ali! Ali! Ali!” Flags snapped in the breeze, red and white t-shirts flooded the open space, and a brass band struck up a familiar campaign tune. For many in the crowd, this was more than politics. This was personal.
Sunday’s campaign launch by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) brought thousands into the heart of Kitty, transforming the usually quiet market square into a stage for one of the ruling party’s most emphatic shows of force in recent memory.
And when President Irfaan Ali took the microphone, the crowd leaned in, some standing on milk crates, others waving fans made from old manila folders, ready to hear what they came for.
“This is our rehearsal for September 1st!” Ali bellowed, his voice punching through the warm evening air. “We are not just a party. We are a movement, a mission, and a force of progress!”The crowd roared.Around him, supporters clapped, danced, and in some cases, wept.
A woman with two children perched beside her on the low wall behind the stage whispered, “This is history,” as she recorded the speech on her phone. President Ali’s message was clear: the PPP/C is not slowing down. Instead, he said, it is “getting stronger, bigger, louder,” and ready to sweep the polls in what he predicted would be a record-breaking election day victory.
But the night wasn’t only about showmanship. Both Ali and Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo tempered the energy with a warning: don’t get comfortable. Jagdeo, speaking earlier in the evening, urged supporters to resist the pull of complacency. “We cannot take anything for granted.
Get into your communities, your homes, your workplaces—remind people what this party has done and why it deserves another term,” he said.Ali backed the call, telling the crowd that victory would only come if supporters turned out in full force.
“You didn’t just show up today—you showed the entire country that Guyana is ready. But we need this same energy at the polls.”Behind the stage, a group of teenagers in matching PPP t-shirts handed out bottled water and party flyers. One, 17-year-old Khaleel from Annandale, said this was his first political rally. “I didn’t expect it to feel like this. It’s like a festival, but it means something,” he said.
President Ali’s speech also paid homage to the PPP’s history and its connection to working-class Guyanese. He described the party as “the party of the nurse, the civil servant, the cane cutter, the mason, the fisherman… every single Guyanese.”
As night fell and the crowd slowly began to disperse, the energy lingered. For many, it wasn’t just about one night or one speech. It was about being seen, being counted, and being part of something they believe is far from over.
