Presidential elections have begun in Guatemala, overshadowed by the controversial exclusion of several candidates. Without a clear favorite and accompanied by allegations of manipulation, the vote was taken in Central America, the most populous country with around 17 million inhabitants.
In primary polls, none of the 22 presidential candidates came close to an outright majority. A runoff election on August 20 between the two strongest candidates was therefore considered likely.
Sandra Torres (67) from the social democratic party UNE was in the lead in the most recent poll by the newspaper “Prensa Libre” with 21.3 percent. The ex-wife of former President Álvaro Colom, who ruled from 2008 to 2012 and died in January, failed in the last two elections in the runoff.
Other likely candidates include former UN diplomat Edmond Mulet, 72, from the centre-right Cabal party and former MP Zury Ríos, 55, daughter of former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt (1926-2018), from the right-wing coalition Valor -Unionista. According to the constitution, the unpopular conservative President Alejandro Giammattei cannot stand again after his four-year term in office.
Elections under fair conditions?
Opposition and independent experts questioned whether the elections were held under fair conditions. Recognized former corruption investigators in exile and activists spoke of a “pact of the corrupt” – an informal alliance between political, economic, legal and criminal actors to protect their own interests. They wanted the status quo to be maintained regardless of who won the election.
Entrepreneur Carlos Pineda was leading in some polls when he was expelled about a month before the election for alleged irregularities at a meeting of his party, Prosperidad Ciudadana (Citizens’ Prosperity). The left-wing indigenous candidate Thelma Cabrera and the conservative Roberto Arzú had previously been excluded. Among others, the European Union and the US government have expressed concern. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, denounced that candidates were excluded from the election for “apparently arbitrary reasons”.
Corruption pervades the country
Dozens of anti-corruption judges and prosecutors have been prosecuted and exiled in Guatemala in recent years. An important independent newspaper recently had to close after the controversial arrest of its founder on allegations of money laundering.
In the town of San José del Golfo, near the capital Guatemala City, 130 poll workers were attacked on the eve of the election. They then resigned, four polling stations could not open as a result, as the regional election committee announced on Sunday. The employees were therefore dragged from their buses and doused with petrol and then threatened to set them on fire. According to media reports, the perpetrators were local residents who suspected people in the buses who had been brought in from outside to illegally cast their votes in the area. The first results were expected on Monday night.
