Guatemalan general election, 2015
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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (August 2015) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Guatemala |
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Executive
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General elections were held in Guatemala on 6 September 2015 to elect the President and Vice President, all 158 Congress deputies, all 20 deputies to the Central American Parliament, and mayors and councils for all 338 municipalities in the country. Since no presidential candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a run-off will happen on 25 October.
All positions will be elected for a four-year period.
Contents
Background[edit]
The Tribunal Supremo Electoral (Supreme Electoral Tribunal) called for general elections officially on 2 May 2015.
Ahead of the election, the La Linea corruption case involving high-ranking officials of the outgoing administration, including President Otto Pérez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti, was made public by the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala. Baldetti resigned in May and was arrested on fraud charges in August. More than a dozen ministers and deputy ministers as well as a number of government officials had to resign too. Less than a week before the election, President Pérez was also stripped of his immunity, resigned and was arrested. Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre acts as head of state until a new president is sworn into office. The scandal has diminished many Guatemalans trust in the political elite even further. Some of the participants of mass protests against corruption demanded a postponement of the election due to the crisis and claims of irregularities.[1][2]
Electoral system[edit]
The President of Guatemala is elected using the two-round system. The 158 members of Congress are elected by two methods; 31 members are elected by closed list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency, with seats allocated using the d'Hondt method. The other 127 seats are elected in 22 multi-member constituencies aligned with the departments.[3]
Around 7.5 million people registered for the elections. Members of the armed forces (Air Force, Army, and Navy), people in prison, and Guatemalans living abroad were not allowed to vote.[4]
Campaign[edit]
In the buildup to the elections the Patriotic Party (PP) and Renewed Democratic Liberty (LIDER) were suspended due to repeated offences. However, all parties were reinstated before elections were called.[5][6]
Possible Belize referendum[edit]
In May 2015, Belize allowed Guatemala to proceed with a referendum asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to definitively rule on Guatemala's longstanding territorial dispute against Belize although Belize by its own admission is not ready for such a vote. A previous treaty between the two countries stipulated that any such vote must be held simultaneously. Guatemala was initially expected to hold its referendum on the issue during its second round of presidential elections in October 2015, but it is unclear if it will do so.[7] Belize has yet to announce its vote on the matter.[8]
During his campaign leading first-round candidate Jimmy Morales made statements strongly in support of Guatemala's territorial claim to Belize, saying, "Something is happening right now, we are about to lose Belize. We have not lost it yet."[7]
President[edit]
The 14 registered candidates were as follows:[9]
- Manuel Baldizón Mendez — Renewed Democratic Liberty (LIDER); born 1970; lawyer, entrepreneur, former Congressman, defeated in the runoff of the 2012 presidential election
- Mario David García Velásquez — Patriotic Party (PP); born 1946; lawyer and journalist, presenter of the political radio broadcast Hablando Claro ("Straight Talk")
- Sandra Torres Casanova — National Unity of Hope (UNE); born 1955; former First Lady (wife of ex-president Álvaro Colom)
- Lizardo Arturo Sosa López — Todos; born 1945; former president of the Bank of Guatemala (2006–2010)
- Roberto González Díaz-Durán — Commitment, Renewal and Order (CREO) + Unionist Party (PU); born 1970; entrepreneur, former minister of energy and mines (2004–05), defeated mayoral candidate of Guatemala City in 2011
- José Ángel López Camposeco — Encounter for Guatemala (EG); born 1959, entrepreneur and banker, former president of the Rural Development Bank (Banrural), former longterm head of the National Association of Coffee (Anacafé)
- Zury Mayté Ríos Sosa de Weller — Vision with Values (ViVa); born 1968; former Congresswoman, daughter of retired general, ex-President and military dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, wife of Illinois State Congressman Jerry Weller
- Miguel Ángel Sandoval — Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG-Maiz) + Winaq; born 1949; sociologist and human rights activist, former guerilla fighter, advisor to the United Nations Development Programme, unsuccessful candidate in the 2007 presidential election (2.1%)
- Jimmy Morales — National Convergence Front (FCN); born 1969, former actor, movie director and producer, known for his role in the comedy series Moralejas ("Morals") alongside his brother Sammy Morales[10]
- Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla — Fuerza; born 1956; ex-director of the penitentiary system of Guatemala, unsuccessful candidate in the 2007 and 2011 presidential elections (17.2% and 1.1%, respectively)
- Mario Amílcar Estrada Orellana — National Change Union (UCN); born 1960; former Congressman, unsuccessful candidate in the 2007 and 2011 presidential elections (3.2% and 8.7%, respectively)
- Luis Fernando Pérez Martinez — Institutional Republican Party (PRI); born 1969; manager, Congressman
- Juan Guillermo Gutiérrez Strauss — National Advancement Party (PAN); born 1956; entrepreneur, unsuccessful candidate in the 2011 presidential election (2.8%)
- Aníbal García — New Republic Movement (MNR); running mate of Nobel Prize laureate and unsuccessful candidate Rigoberta Menchú in the 2011 presidential election
Opinion polls[edit]
A poll released on 3 September gave Morales 25% of the vote, compared to 22.9% for Manuel Baldizon and 18.4% for Sandra Torres[11]
Results[edit]
President[edit]
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Jimmy Morales | National Convergence Front | 1,166,700 | 23.85 | ||
| Sandra Torres | National Unity of Hope | 966,683 | 19.76 | ||
| Manuel Baldizón | Renewed Democratic Liberty | 961,160 | 19.65 | ||
| Alejandro Giammattei | Fuerza | 315,747 | 6.45 | ||
| Zury Ríos | Vision with Values | 288,402 | 5.90 | ||
| Lizardo Sosa | Todos | 260,769 | 5.33 | ||
| Mario David García | Patriotic Party | 226,316 | 4.63 | ||
| Roberto González Díaz-Durán | CREO–Unionist Party | 168,480 | 3.44 | ||
| Mario Estrada | National Change Union | 168,386 | 3.44 | ||
| Juan Guillermo Gutiérrez | National Advancement Party | 151,643 | 3.10 | ||
| Miguel Ángel Sandoval | Winaq–URNG–MAIZ | 103,154 | 2.11 | ||
| José Ángel López | Encounter for Guatemala | 44,360 | 0.91 | ||
| Luis Fernando Pérez | Institutional Republican Party | 41,969 | 0.86 | ||
| Aníbal García | New Republic Movement | 28,426 | 0.58 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 495,902 | 9.21 | – | ||
| Total | 5,388,107 | 100 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 7,556,873 | 71.24 | |||
| Source: TSE (99.07% of votes counted) | |||||
Congress[edit]
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renewed Democratic Liberty | 884,750 | 19.10 | 44 | +30 |
| National Unity of Hope | 687,245 | 14.83 | 36 | −12 |
| Todos | 451,506 | 9.75 | 18 | New |
| Patriotic Party | 436,754 | 9.43 | 17 | −39 |
| National Convergence Front | 405,742 | 8.76 | 11 | +11 |
| Encuentro por Guatemala | 289,522 | 6.25 | 7 | |
| CREO–Unionist Party | 263,366 | 5.68 | 5 | −8 |
| National Change Union | 251,160 | 5.42 | 6 | −8 |
| Winaq–URNG–MAIZ | 199,754 | 4.31 | 3 | +2 |
| Convergence | 178,165 | 3.85 | 3 | New |
| Vision with Values | 169,784 | 3.66 | 3 | |
| National Advancement Party | 158,533 | 3.42 | 3 | +1 |
| Fuerza | 95,834 | 2.07 | 2 | New |
| Institutional Republican Party | 57,948 | 1.25 | 0 | −1 |
| New Republic Movement | 41,731 | 0.90 | 0 | New |
| Reform Movement | 36,732 | 0.79 | 0 | New |
| Heart New Nation | 24,238 | 0.56 | 0 | New |
| Invalid/blank votes | 737,339 | 13.73 | – | – |
| Total | 5,370,103 | 100 | 158 | 0 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 7,556,873 | 71.06 | – | – |
| Source: TSE (98.76% of votes counted), Seats according to elPeriodico | ||||
References[edit]
- ^ Jo Tuckman (27 August 2015). "Guatemalan president faces growing threat of impeachment amid scandal". The Guardian.
- ^ Fernando del Rincón; Rafael Romo (7 September 2015). "Guatemala election: Millions vote, but runoff widely expected". CNN.
- ^ Electoral system IPU
- ^ "Órgano electoral da luz verde a comicios generales". s21.com.gt. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
- ^ Flor de María Ortiz. "2015 electoral season already started" (in Spanish). Guatemala. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ^ http://www.elperiodico.com.gt/es/20141221/pais/6476/Partidos-suspendidos-son-multados--otra-vez-por-campaña-anticipada.htm
- ^ a b Trujillo, Renee. "Presidential Candidate for Guatemala Says Belize Can Still Be Fought For", LOVE FM, 9 September 2015 (accessed 28 September 2015)
- ^ Ramos, Adele. "Belize and Guatemala to amend ICJ compromis", Amandala, 12 May 2015. (accessed 14 May 2015)
- ^ "Candidatos Presidenciales 2015 Guatemala". guatemalaelecciones.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ^ Louisa Reynolds (10 June 2015). "In Guatemala, anti-establishment presidential candidate benefits from corruption scandals". The Tico Times.
- ^ France 24 news report, Sunday 6 September.
External links[edit]
- Tribunal Supremo Electoral (Spanish)
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