A former Guatemala City mayor has claimed victory in Guatemala's race for president, saying he defeated former military dictator Mr Efrain Rios Montt's bid to regain power.
As official results trickled in, conservative businessman Mr Oscar Berger told supporters the party's numbers showed he might have won the outright majority needed for an unprecedented first-round victory, amid a record turnout of voters.
If not, he will face the runner-up, left-leaning career politician Mr Alvaro Colom, in a second round in December to decide the Central American nation's second presidential election since 1996 peace accords ended a 36-year civil war.
If Mr Montt, who is blamed for civil war atrocities during his 1982-83 rule, comes in third as Mr Berger claimed and early results indicated, he will be out of the race.
The large turnout - estimated as high as 80 per cent - sparked violence and delayed the vote count as polling stations stayed open late.
Two women were crushed to death by crowds in Quiche province while an opposition party campaign director was shot in the leg in the capital. It was unclear if the attack was politically motivated.
Voters flocked to the polls, apparently to oust MrMontt's ruling Guatemalan Republican Front, or FRG, which iswidely seen as corrupt.