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Guyana's ruling PPP party leads the partial vote tally with upstart WIN coming in second

The election commission of Guyana announced on Wednesday that the ruling People's Progressive Party had won 123,923 total votes in an incomplete tally for general elections. This translates to five districts.

The official tallies of four additional districts are still pending. However, the figures look good for President Irfaan Ali who is running for reelection on behalf of the PPP.

The partial results showed a shakeup in the opposition of the South American nation. The newcomer We Invest in Nationhood party (WIN), founded only three months ago by Azruddin Mohammed, came in second in the vote count, with 50,829 votes and winning one district.

After a campaign focusing on how the hydrocarbon boom in the country should be used, voters chose 65 members of parliament as well as a new government on Monday.

Since ExxonMobil began pumping offshore oil late in 2019, Guyana has seen its economy grow at a rate of 7.5 billion dollars.

Ali's government that took power in 2020 has spent oil revenues on building roads, hospitals and schools, as well as making studying at the university free.

Opposition parties have criticized what they claim is an unfair distribution of oil revenues to groups associated with the PPP. The PPP denies this allegation.

The U.S. sanctioned WIN leader Mohamed last year on allegations that he, along with his father Nazar Mohamed defrauded Guyanese tax revenue and bribed officials. They deny all wrongdoing.

Mohamed's philanthropy has gained him widespread support from the community, particularly among Indigenous and poor communities. WIN also calls for a fairer housing system and more opportunities for all. Reporting by Kemol Kings Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb

(source: Reuters)