“Guyana’s elections commission on Sunday declared opposition presidential candidate Irfaan Ali the winner of a disputed March 2 election, paving the way for a change in power in the newly oil-producing South American country” Reuters reports.
“Ali, a former housing minister and member of the opposition People’s Progressive Party, was expected to be sworn in on Sunday afternoon. Preliminary recount data released in June showed he had won the initial poll, and Washington last month called on current President David Granger to resign. The final result comes months after a consortium led by Exxon Mobil Corp began producing oil off Guyana’s coast, turning the impoverished country of fewer than 800,000 people into the world’s newest crude hot spot and promising to boost growth in the agriculture- and mining-dependent economy.”