Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo leaves a polling station in Georgetown after casting his vote on election day August 28, 2006. AFP PHOTO/TANISHA PETERS

Jagdeo, an economist who worked his way up through the party ranks, was favored to win re-election in the former British colony, where tensions between the ethnic Indian majority and Afro-Guyanese have marred three previous votes.

Observers, including teams from Commonwealth nations and the Organization of American States, noted some difficulties in the ballot, but generally praised the vote as a success after past political violence in the impoverished South American nation.

The ethnic Indian majority has mostly backed Jagdeo's ruling People's Progressive Party/Civic, or PPP/C. Jagdeo's main opponent was Robert Corbin, 58, whose People's National Congress Reform, or PNCR, claimed support primarily from Guyanese who trace their roots back to Africa.

Pre-election polls showed the PPP/C was favored to maintain their majority in the 65-seat parliament. Newcomers Alliance for Change, or AFC, could hold the balance of power in the assembly.

The Guyana Election Commission said it could have official results as early as Wednesday. Tallies were still coming in late Tuesday with 34 percent of 1,999 polling stations counted. PPP had more votes, but officials cautioned the way ballots were distributed meant that figure may not reflect the final result.

'PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS' - JAGDEO

"We are very pleased with the results," Jagdeo told reporters at his party headquarters. "PPP is doing extremely well."

Elections in 1992, 1997 and 2001 ended in rioting and several deaths when tensions between main parties broke into violence and looting. Authorities reported no major disruptions or violence during the election.

But Corbin said his party had discovered irregularities. He said "collusion" at some polling stations between election officials and poll workers from the ruling party, allowed unregistered voters to cast ballots.

He said the party would investigate further and challenge the results at the polling stations where it found fraud.

"The entire process was flagrantly violated," Corbin told reporters.

Georgetown, where colonial buildings in the run-down center reflect the city's Dutch and British past, generally returned to business after the vote. But tensions lingered and some storekeepers left their shops partially shuttered to ward off looters.

"We are just generally taking precautions because of our past experience," electronic goods shopkeeper Chris Dasilva said as he watched poll tallies on television.

Jagdeo won support by building schools, water pipelines and roadways and by reducing the country's debt. But Guyana, a country about the size of Britain with a population of 750,000, still struggles with high crime, drug trafficking and a lack of investment despite rich timber and bauxite reserves.

South America's only English-speaking country, Guyana gained its independence from London in 1966 and is populated by descendants of African slaves and indentured workers brought from India and China to work on sugarcane plantations.