Guyana pushes for free and fair elections, economic reforms in Cuba

Last Updated on Friday, 3 July 2026, 17:14 by Writer

Guyana on Friday said Cubans must decide their future in free and fair elections and at the same time urged talks to ease tensions, amid persistent United States (US) calls for democracy and economic reforms.

“A resolution to the current situation must be based on the will of the Cuban people and founded on universal values, rule of law, humanitarian law, transparency and good governance,” the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights states that “the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”

The Guyana government says it stands in solidarity with the Cuban people and welcomes a sustainable solution to the economic and humanitarian challenges in Cuba.

Weeks after the Cuban government introduced sweeping economic reforms away from its command-style system, in the face of fears of US-led invasion to oust the President Miguel Díaz Canel administration out of office, the Guyana government said it favoured talks as the pathway for the development of Cubans.

“We encourage diplomatic dialogue that would promote stability and lead to the prosperity of the Cuban people, and the creation of opportunities that optimise the full potential of the Cuban people in an economic environment that guarantees the freedom of the Cuban people,” the foreign ministry also said.

In May 2026, on the sidelines of the inaugural Shield of the Americas Summit hosted by American President Donald Trump, the Guyanese leader had said there must a “transition” that allows Cubans to benefit from prosperity and democracy.

“There must be dialogue but those changes must lead to the improvement of the people of Cuba. It must lead to better conditions for the people of Cuba, must lead to a society in which the rule of law, in which democracy, in which freedom is celebrated,” he had said in an interview with Fox News.

The United Nations Convenant on Civil and Political Rights also states that every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives, and to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.

Trinidad and Tobago, a sister US ally in the Caribbean whose leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, had also participated in the Shield of the Americas Summit, had also called for democracy in Cuba.