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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Guatemala |
Executive |
Legislature |
Judiciary |
General elections were held in Guatemala on 11 September 2011 in order to elect the President, Vice President, members of Congress, members of the Central American Parliament and mayors and councillors for all municipalities. The Patriotic Party emerged as the largest party in Congress, winning 56 of the 158 seats.
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, Belize and the Caribbean to the northeast, Honduras to the east, El Salvador to the southeast and the Pacific Ocean to the south. With an estimated population of around 16.6 million, it is the most populated country in Central America. Guatemala is a representative democracy; its capital and largest city is Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción, also known as Guatemala City.
The President of Guatemala officially known as the President of the Republic of Guatemala, is the head of state and head of government of Guatemala, elected to a single four-year term.
Vice President of Guatemala is a political position in Guatemala which is since 1966 elected concurrently with the position of President of Guatemala. The current Vice President is Jafeth Cabrera.
As no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a second round of the presidential election was held on 6 November with Otto Pérez Molina of the PP facing Manuel Baldizón of Renewed Democratic Liberty. Pérez was elected with 53.7% of the vote.
Otto Fernando Pérez Molina is a Guatemalan politician and retired military officer, who was President of Guatemala from 2012 to 2015. Standing as the Patriotic Party candidate, he lost the 2007 presidential election but prevailed in the 2011 presidential election. During the 1990s, before entering politics, he served as Director of Military Intelligence, Presidential Chief of Staff under President Ramiro de León Carpio, and as chief representative of the military for the Guatemalan Peace Accords. On being elected President, he called for the legalization of drugs.
Manuel Antonio Baldizón Méndez is a Guatemalan politician, lawyer, and hotel entrepreneur. He was the leader of the "Libertad Democrática Renovada" (LIDER) Renewed Democratic Liberty party and was a candidate in the 2015 presidential election placing third and losing to Jimmy Morales. He was also a candidate in the 2011 presidential election, placing second and losing to Otto Pérez Molina in a run-off vote. On January 20, 2018, he was captured in the United States, when he was accused of accepting bribes from Odebrecht.
Renewed Democratic Liberty was a centre-right political party in Guatemala.
Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity and other leftist groups ran under the Broad Front of the Left banner, nominating Rigoberta Menchú as their presidential candidate.
The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity is a Guatemalan political party that started as a guerrilla movement but laid down its arms in 1996 and became a legal political party in 1998 after the peace process which ended the Guatemalan Civil War.
Rigoberta Menchú Tum is a K'iche' political and human rights activist from Guatemala. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's indigenous feminists during and after the Guatemalan Civil War (1960–1996), and to promoting indigenous rights in the country.
Guatemala's high crime rate was a major issue in the campaign as it sits near the Mexican border that is a conduit for drug trafficking.
Baldizon campaigned on the premise of having Guatemala's football team to the World Cup. He also promised to tackle poverty and crime, as well as assure workers an extra month's salary every year. He also said he would reinstate the death penalty and televise executions.
Polls showed Pérez Molina with a lead over other possible candidates. [1]
A poll for the second round showed Pérez Molina with 49.4% to Baldizón's 39.2%; 11% were undecided. [2] A second poll gave Pérez Molina 39.7% to Baldizón's 32.2%, with 28% undecided. [3] A third poll gave Pérez Molina the lead with 45.7% to Baldizón's 37.2% and 17.1% undecided. [4] A final poll had Pérez Molina ahead with 54.6%, Baldizón at 38.7% and undecided at 5.7%. [5]
Former Foreign Minister Edgar Gutierrez said that "the polling methods are inadequate. They've failed to capture how between 25 and 30 per cent of the people intend to vote."
Amongst the oberservers for the election were Oscar Almengor, who led a team University of San Carlos. [6]
According to Article 186(c) of the Constitution, the relatives of the President cannot participate in the Presidential election when the relative holds the Presidency. Sandra Torres, former wife of the current president, got divorced to run for the presidency. There were several requests to have a warrant to forbid Sandra Torres from participating in the election. On 9 August 2011, the Constitutional Court upheld a sentence of the Supreme Court preventing Torres from running.[ citation needed ]
Patriotic Party | ||
---|---|---|
Otto Pérez Molina | Roxana Baldetti | |
for President | for Vice President | |
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General Secretary of Patriotic Party (2002-2009) Deputy of the Congress (2004-2008) | General Secretary of Patriotic Party (2009- ) Deputy of the Congress (2004-2011) |
Renewed Democratic Liberty | ||
---|---|---|
Manuel Baldizón | Raquel Blandón | |
for President | for Vice President | |
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General Secretary of Renewed Democratic Liberty (2010- ) Deputy of the Congress (2004-2008) | First Lady of Guatemala (1985-1991) Candidate for Vice President (1999) |
On 6 November, Molina declared victory in the election saying that: "For all the Guatemalans who have put their trust in me, I thank you very much. To those Guatemalans who did not vote for Otto Perez, I make a call to unite and to work together in the next four years, leaving aside party colours." Turnout for the runoff was half that of the first round in some regions. [6]
Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
Otto Pérez Molina | Patriotic Party | 1,611,493 | 36.01 | 2,300,979 | 53.74 |
Manuel Baldizón | Renewed Democratic Liberty | 1,038,287 | 23.20 | 1,981,003 | 46.26 |
Eduardo Suger | Commitment, Renewal and Order | 732,842 | 16.38 | ||
Mario Estrada | National Change Union | 383,643 | 8.57 | ||
Harold Caballeros | Vision with Values–Encuentro por Guatemala | 275,475 | 6.16 | ||
Rigoberta Menchú | Broad Front of the Left (Winaq–URNG–MAIZ–ANN) | 146,353 | 3.27 | ||
Juan Gutiérrez | National Advancement Party | 123,648 | 2.76 | ||
Patricia de Arzú | Unionist Party | 97,381 | 2.18 | ||
Alejandro Giammattei | Social Action Centre | 46,395 | 1.04 | ||
Adela Camacho de Torrebiarte | National Development Action | 19,038 | 0.43 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 618,675 | – | 183,136 | – | |
Total | 5,093,230 | 100 | 4,465,118 | 100 | |
Registered voters/turnout | 7,340,841 | 69.38 | 7,340,841 | 60.83 | |
Source: IFES, IFES |
Of 158 congressmen to be elected, 126 congressmen sought re-election but only 56 were re-elected and 102 new congressmen were elected for the first time since democratic election took root in Guatemala. About 65% of MPs were first time representatives, which was the first time this occurred since the 1995 election.[ citation needed ]
Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Patriotic Party | 1,171,337 | 26.62 | +10.71 | 56 | +26 |
National Unity of Hope–Grand National Alliance | 993,198 | 22.57 | –16.57 | 48 | –37 |
National Change Union | 417,935 | 9.50 | +5.44 | 14 | +10 |
Renewed Democratic Liberty | 390,319 | 8.87 | New | 14 | New |
Commitment, Renewal and Order | 381,652 | 8.67 | New | 12 | New |
Vision with Values–Encuentro por Guatemala | 346,557 | 7.87 | +1.70 | 6 | +2 |
Broad Front of the Left (Winaq–URNG-MAIZ–ANN) | 141,938 | 3.23 | –1.39 | 3 | +1 |
National Advancement Party | 137,390 | 3.12 | –1.46 | 2 | –2 |
Guatemalan Republican Front | 120,455 | 2.74 | –7.06 | 1 | –14 |
Unionist Party | 118,788 | 2.70 | –3.40 | 1 | –7 |
Victory | 71,501 | 1.62 | New | 1 | New |
Social Action Centre | 47,390 | 1.08 | –3.81 | 0 | –5 |
National Development Action | 39,251 | 0.89 | New | 0 | New |
National Convergence Front | 23,272 | 0.53 | New | 0 | New |
Invalid/blank votes | 689,047 | – | – | – | – |
Total | 5,090,030 | 100 | – | 158 | 0 |
Registered voters/turnout | 7,340,841 | 69.34 | – | – | – |
Source: IFES |
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