Guyana's president sworn in with call for unity

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Sept 3 (Reuters) Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo was sworn in for another five years calling for national unity after this week's peaceful election in the divided South American nation of 750,000 people.

The former British colony wedged between Venezuela and Suriname escaped the violence of past votes when tensions between the ethnic Indian majority and Afro-Guyanese boiled over into rioting and looting.

Jagdeo, a 42-year-old ethnic Indian who trained as an economist in Russia, won 54.6 per cent of Monday's vote while his People's Progressive Party/Civic party won 36 seats in the 65-member parliament.

''I am the president of all of Guyana and I need you to work with me,'' Jagdeo said at a ceremony yesterday attended by opposition leaders on the trimmed lawn of his official residence.

''I hope to meet leaders of the political parties in parliament to hammer out a framework of cooperation,'' he said.

Georgetown, the sweltering coastal capital on the Atlantic Ocean, was bustling with weekend shoppers preparing for the new school term. Soldiers were still patrolling as a precaution.

Jagdeo must now tackle crime and bring in investment to allow Guyana to compete in the Caricom trade bloc of Caribbean nations.

He must also show the international community that he is willing to fight drug traffickers, whom the United States says could threaten Guyana's democracy, analysts said.

Guyana, the size of Britain, struggles with poverty, crime and scarce investment despite rich bauxite and timber reserves.

Robert Corbin, an opponent who charged Jagdeo with ignoring Afro-Guyanese issues and turning a blind eye to corruption, had denounced irregularities and accused the PPP/C of fraud at some polling stations.

But Jagdeo said the opposition leader called him shortly before the ceremony to offer his congratulations.

Corbin secured 34 per cent of the vote and his People's National Congress Reform party won 22 parliament seats. Newcomers Alliance for Change won five seats in the chamber with the last two seats going to smaller parties.

REUTERS SRS PM0509