GEORGETOWN, Guyana:

The race for the presidency of Guyana and control of its 65-seat Parliament tightened last night with the elections commission saying it was too close to call with about 60 per cent of the votes tallied up to press time.

"Right now we don't want to say much. We will have substantial results later on Tuesday night but right now it is a neck-to-neck race with 60 per cent of the votes tallied," Chief Elections Officer Gocool Boodhoo told The Gleaner.

Both Boodhoo and officials from the main opposition People's National Congress (PNC) had come up with similar assessments up to 7:00 last night but both parties warned that results from traditional strongholds of both the PNC and the People's Progressive Party (PPP) were yet to be tallied and announced and could change the fortunes either way.

The PPP had been leading by about 8,000 votes for much of the day, but results from a particular region that traditionally supported one of the two parties tilted the balance at various times.

PPP officials said their projections, based on statements of polls tallied and signed off by agents from every party present at polling stations, showed it had already won the presidency and about 54 per cent or the votes that would give it control of the House. PNC Leader Robert Corbin begged to disagree and said his party held a one percentage point lead over the PPP.

- Bert Wilkinson