Diplomats and foreign observers on Thursday questioned preliminary results of Guyana's presidential
election as incumbent David Granger claimed victory and the opposition denounced fraud, setting up a showdown in the oil-rich South
American nation.
Opposition leaders denounced "thievery," and
diplomats from the
United States, the
European Union,
Britain and
Canada said results released by the
elections council for one of the country's regions were not credible.
"This is an embarrassment that this emerging oil giant has to be sitting here at this table now and speaking on the brink of a dictatorship," said Kian Jabour of opposition party A New and United Guyana.