Guatemala presidential election frontrunners to face runoff
Published: 04:06 PM,Jun 26,2023 | EDITED : 08:06 PM,Jun 26,2023
GUATEMALA: The two frontrunners in Guatemala's presidential elections will face a runoff vote, the electoral commission said on Monday, with neither able to secure the 50 per cent minimum share to win the first round.
With nearly 90 per cent of votes counted, Guatemala's electoral commission said the results were 'practically definitive'.
Centre-left candidate Sandra Torres, who won 15.12 per cent of votes counted, was less than three per cent ahead of Bernardo Arevalo, on 12.20 per cent.
Sunday's election saw low turnout and blank ballots cast, with many voters doubtful it will fix the country's severe problems with poverty, crime, and corruption.
About 57 per cent of the 9.4 million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots while more than seven per cent of votes cast were blank, according to the electoral commission.
The runoff election is expected to be held on August 20.
The vote was marred by the exclusion of some candidates as well as a crackdown on the press and accusations of ballot rigging.
Two popular candidates -- Carlos Pineda and Thelma Cabrera -- had their candidacies invalidated by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, in decisions their supporters have claimed amount to political sidelining.
Torres and centrist candidate Edmond Mulet both accused the ruling party of buying votes.
Voters clashed with police and military in San Jose del Golfo, 30 kilometres from Guatemala City, amid allegations the mayor unlawfully brought people from other districts to vote for outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei's ruling party.
Voting in the town was suspended.
In San Martin Zapotitlan, police fired tear gas at demonstrators making the same allegation as they burned ballot papers at a voting centre in the town. Eleven people were arrested, police chief Edgar Moran said.
Giammattei himself is term-limited and did not run in the election.
Also up for election were 160 members of Congress, 340 mayors, and 20 delegates to the Central American Parliament.
But many voters had already lost faith that the elections would bring about substantial changes.
'We woke up very early to vote. We vote with enthusiasm -- and afterward, the presidents, it's always the same thing,' voter Maria Chajon said.
'All the institutions of the state, including the electoral process, are manipulated by groups in power linked to corruption and the traditional oligarchy,' said Edie Cux, director of the local branch of Transparency International, a German NGO that tracks perceptions of corruption. — AFP
With nearly 90 per cent of votes counted, Guatemala's electoral commission said the results were 'practically definitive'.
Centre-left candidate Sandra Torres, who won 15.12 per cent of votes counted, was less than three per cent ahead of Bernardo Arevalo, on 12.20 per cent.
Sunday's election saw low turnout and blank ballots cast, with many voters doubtful it will fix the country's severe problems with poverty, crime, and corruption.
About 57 per cent of the 9.4 million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots while more than seven per cent of votes cast were blank, according to the electoral commission.
The runoff election is expected to be held on August 20.
The vote was marred by the exclusion of some candidates as well as a crackdown on the press and accusations of ballot rigging.
Two popular candidates -- Carlos Pineda and Thelma Cabrera -- had their candidacies invalidated by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, in decisions their supporters have claimed amount to political sidelining.
Torres and centrist candidate Edmond Mulet both accused the ruling party of buying votes.
Voters clashed with police and military in San Jose del Golfo, 30 kilometres from Guatemala City, amid allegations the mayor unlawfully brought people from other districts to vote for outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei's ruling party.
Voting in the town was suspended.
In San Martin Zapotitlan, police fired tear gas at demonstrators making the same allegation as they burned ballot papers at a voting centre in the town. Eleven people were arrested, police chief Edgar Moran said.
Giammattei himself is term-limited and did not run in the election.
Also up for election were 160 members of Congress, 340 mayors, and 20 delegates to the Central American Parliament.
But many voters had already lost faith that the elections would bring about substantial changes.
'We woke up very early to vote. We vote with enthusiasm -- and afterward, the presidents, it's always the same thing,' voter Maria Chajon said.
'All the institutions of the state, including the electoral process, are manipulated by groups in power linked to corruption and the traditional oligarchy,' said Edie Cux, director of the local branch of Transparency International, a German NGO that tracks perceptions of corruption. — AFP