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![]() Results of first round by department: dark blue for Morales; red for Baldizón; green for Torres; and light blue for Estrada. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Guatemala |
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Legislature |
Judiciary |
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.
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.
The Renewed Democratic Liberty became the largest party in Congress with 44 seats. Since no presidential candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a run-off took place on 25 October. Jimmy Morales won the contest, taking 67.4% of the vote, in a landslide victory over Sandra Torres.
Renewed Democratic Liberty was a centre-right political party in Guatemala.
Jimmy Morales is a Guatemalan politician, actor, screenwriter and director, who won the 2015 Guatemalan presidential election and has served as President of Guatemala since January 2016. He joined the National Convergence Front (FCN/Nation) party in 2013 and became its General Secretary. Prior to his entry into politics he was a comic actor.
Sandra Julieta Torres Casanova is a Guatemalan politician and current presidential candidate who was First Lady of Guatemala from 2008 to 2011, as the wife of President Álvaro Colom Caballeros. She was the runner up of the Presidential election of 2015 in the runoff against Jimmy Morales.
It was the first presidential election since 1999 in which the runner-up of the previous contest did not then go on to win.
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 also resigned. Less than a week before the election, President Pérez was stripped of his immunity, resigned and was arrested. Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre acts as head of state until a new president is elected and sworn into office. The scandal has further diminished many Guatemalans' trust in the political elite. 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]
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.
Ingrid Roxana Baldetti Elías was the first female Vice President of Guatemala from 2012 until her resignation amid a corruption scandal in 2015.
The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala is an international body charged with investigating and prosecuting serious crime in Guatemala. On January 7, 2019 the agreement between the United Nations and Guatemala was terminated by Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales, evoking CICIG´s alleged participation in illegal acts, abuse of authority and acts against the constitution. The UN rejected this unilateral termination, and the country's highest law court ruled against the president's decision CICIG's term was scheduled to end in September 2019. Morales' decision, approved by the country's business elite, triggered an institutional crisis in Guatemala, as the Constitutional court sided with CICIG. Morales is being investigated concerning his campaign financing
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 was 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. [3] Belize has yet to announce its vote on the matter. [4]
Belize is a country located on the eastern coast of Central America. Belize is bordered on the northwest by Mexico, on the east by the Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by Guatemala. It has an area of 22,970 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) and a population of 387,879 (2017). Its mainland is about 180 mi (290 km) long and 68 mi (110 km) wide. It has the lowest population and population density in Central America. The country's population growth rate of 1.87% per year (2015) is the second highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) sometimes called the World Court, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (U.N.). It settles legal disputes submitted by states and gives advisory opinions on legal issues referred by authorized U.N. organs and specialized agencies. Through its opinions and rulings, the ICJ also serves as a source of international law.
The Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute is an unresolved binational territorial dispute between the states of Belize and Guatemala, neighbours in Central America. The territory of Belize has been claimed in whole or in part by Guatemala since 1821.
When Jimmy Morales was running for president, a Guatemalan journalist asked Morales which Guatemalan historical event he thought was the most deplorable. Morales responded, "The most deplorable event – among all the things that have happened in Guatemala, there are certain things that are not spoken about and which I believe we should. Everything that goes contrary to national unity and territorial integrity are things that should hurt us. Something is happening right now, we are about to lose Belize. We have not lost it yet. We still have the possibility of going to the International Court of Justice where we can fight that territory or part of that territory. ... I think that it is worth anything that is natural resources and of benefit to the nation." [3]
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 23 multi-member constituencies based on the departments (with the Central District or Guatemala City as a separate constituency) also using the d'Hondt method. [5]
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. [6] The Tribunal Supremo Electoral (Supreme Electoral Tribunal) officially called for general elections on 2 May 2015.
A total of 14 candidates were registered to contest the presidential elections: [7]
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. [9] [10]
National Convergence Front | ||
---|---|---|
Jimmy Morales | Jafeth Cabrera | |
for President | for Vice President | |
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General Secretary of National Convergence Front (2013- ) Candidate for Mayor of Mixco (2011) | Rector of the University of San Carlos (1994-1998) Secretary of Agrarian Affairs (2004-2008) |
National Unity of Hope | ||
---|---|---|
Sandra Torres | Mario Leal | |
for President | for Vice President | |
![]() | ![]() | |
General Secretary of National Unity of Hope (2012- ) First Lady of Guatemala (2008-2011) | Secretary of Specific Affairs of the Presidency (2012-2014) |
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]
The front runners: Morales, Baldizón and Torres, were expected to competitively compete for the position of President. In the first round, Morales gained 24% of the vote, followed by a closely fought battle between Torres and Baldizón, with less than 20,000 votes separating the two. Since no candidate received a 50% majority, the top two candidates participated in the run-off in October. Morales won the run-off contest with 67.4% of the vote to Torres' 32.6%. Morales, a comedic actor, won with the slogan "not corrupt, nor a thief". [12]
Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | ||
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Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
Jimmy Morales | National Convergence Front | 1,152,394 | 23.99 | 2,751,058 | 67.44 |
Sandra Torres | National Unity of Hope | 948,809 | 19.76 | 1,328,342 | 32.56 |
Manuel Baldizón | Renewed Democratic Liberty | 930,905 | 19.38 | ||
Alejandro Giammattei | Fuerza | 313,628 | 6.53 | ||
Zury Ríos | Vision with Values | 286,730 | 5.97 | ||
Lizardo Sosa | Todos | 259,673 | 5.41 | ||
Mario David García | Patriotic Party | 214,532 | 4.47 | ||
Roberto González Díaz-Durán | CREO–Unionist Party | 166,960 | 3.48 | ||
Mario Estrada | National Change Union | 163,974 | 3.41 | ||
Juan Guillermo Gutiérrez | National Advancement Party | 149,925 | 3.12 | ||
Miguel Ángel Sandoval | Winaq–URNG–MAIZ | 101,347 | 2.11 | ||
José Ángel López | Encounter for Guatemala | 43,916 | 0.91 | ||
Luis Fernando Pérez | Institutional Republican Party | 41,554 | 0.87 | ||
Aníbal García | New Republic Movement | 28,383 | 0.59 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 467,759 | – | 176,647 | – | |
Total | 5,270,489 | 100 | 4,242,854 | 100 | |
Registered voters/turnout | 7,556,873 | 69.74 | 7,556,873 | 56.15 | |
Source: TSE |
In Congress, Baldizón's LIDER gained 31 seats on their previous election making them the largest party with 45 seats. Torres' UNE retained second position with 32 seats, despite losing 16. Competing in their first election, Todos captured 18 seats. PP suffered the greatest loss, losing 38 seats overall, down to 18. Morales' FCN gained 11 seats.
Party | National | District | Total seats | +/– | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
Renewed Democratic Liberty | 860,783 | 18.88 | 7 | 903,644 | 19.29 | 38 | 45 | +31 |
National Unity of Hope | 676,080 | 14.83 | 5 | 728,106 | 15.54 | 27 | 32 | –16 |
Todos | 445,996 | 9.78 | 3 | 495,129 | 10.57 | 15 | 18 | New |
Patriotic Party | 419,353 | 9.20 | 3 | 501,029 | 10.70 | 15 | 18 | –38 |
National Convergence Front | 403,086 | 8.84 | 3 | 338,060 | 7.22 | 8 | 11 | +11 |
Encuentro por Guatemala | 289,646 | 6.35 | 2 | 217,612 | 4.65 | 5 | 7 | – |
CREO–Unionist Party | 261,040 | 5.73 | 2 | 269,939 | 5.76 | 3 | 5 | –8 |
National Change Union | 244,788 | 5.37 | 2 | 264,437 | 5.65 | 5 | 7 | –7 |
Winaq–URNG–MAIZ | 198,715 | 4.36 | 1 | 45,731 | 0.98 | 0 | 1 | – |
Convergence | 175,515 | 3.85 | 1 | 167,363 | 3.57 | 2 | 3 | New |
Vision with Values | 168,707 | 3.70 | 1 | 237,118 | 5.06 | 4 | 5 | – |
National Advancement Party | 158,309 | 3.47 | 1 | 113,354 | 2.42 | 2 | 3 | +1 |
Fuerza | 95,392 | 2.09 | 0 | 92,244 | 1.97 | 2 | 2 | New |
Institutional Republican Party | 58,811 | 1.29 | 0 | 62,763 | 1.34 | 0 | 0 | –1 |
New Republic Movement | 41,954 | 0.92 | 0 | 44,443 | 0.95 | 0 | 0 | New |
Reform Movement | 36,693 | 0.80 | 0 | 39,295 | 0.84 | 0 | 0 | New |
Heart New Nation | 23,880 | 0.52 | 0 | 13,992 | 0.30 | 0 | 0 | New |
URNG–MAIZ | – | – | – | 112,123 | 2.39 | 1 | 1 | – |
Winaq | – | – | – | 29,924 | 0.64 | 0 | 0 | – |
My Country | – | – | – | 6,452 | 0.14 | 0 | 0 | New |
CREO | – | – | – | 1,375 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | – |
Invalid/blank votes | 712,352 | – | – | 612,313 | – | – | – | – |
Total | 5,271,100 | 100 | 31 | 5,296,446 | 100 | 127 | 158 | 0 |
Registered voters/turnout | 7,556,873 | 69.75 | – | 7,556,873 | 70.09 | – | – | – |
Source: TSE |
Following his victory, Morales vowed "I will try with all my heart and strength not to disappoint you." [13] The US-based National Public Radio described this a rightward shift among voters in both the Americas and Europe. [14]
Politics of Guatemala takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, where by the President of Guatemala is both head of state, head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress of the Republic. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Grow Party formerly Grand National Alliance was a right-wing conservative political party in Guatemala. The acronym "GANA" also spells out the word gana, from the verb ganar, "to win".
The National Unity of Hope is a political party in Guatemala. It was founded in 2002 and defines itself as a social-democratic and social-Christian party.
The Congress of the Republic is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Guatemala. The Guatemalan Congress is made up of 158 deputies who are elected by direct universal suffrage to serve four-year terms. The electoral system is closed party list proportional representation. 31 of the deputies are elected on a nationwide list, whilst the remaining 127 deputies are elected in 22 multi-member constituencies. Each of Guatemalas's 22 departments serves as a district, with the exception of the department of Guatemala containing the capital, which on account of its size is divided into two (distrito central and distrito Guatemala). Departments are allocated seats based on their population size and they are shown in the table below.
The Patriotic Party was a conservative political party in Guatemala. It was founded on 24 February 2001 by retired Army General Otto Pérez Molina.
Wilfred Peter "Sedi" Elrington is a Belizean politician who has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belize since 2008.
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.
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.
The Bolivian general election, 2014 was Bolivia's second to take place under the country's 2009 constitution, and the first supervised by the Plurinational Electoral Organ, a newly created fourth branch of government. Incumbent President Evo Morales was re-elected for a third term.
Alejandro Baltazar Maldonado Aguirre is a Guatemalan politician who was the Acting President of Guatemala, following the Congress of Guatemala's acceptance of the resignation of President Otto Pérez Molina on September 3, 2015.
The National Convergence Front is a political party in Guatemala.
Ernesto Jafeth Cabrera Franco is a Guatemalan politician who has served as Vice President of Guatemala since 14 January 2016.
Luis Armando Rabbé Tejada is a Guatemalan politician and media entrepreneur. He was President of the Congress of Guatemala between 14 January 2015 and 14 January 2016. Rabbé was elected to the Congress of Guatemala in the 2011 elections for the National List under the banner of National Change Union. Three months after being installed he became an independent member. In the 2015 general election Rabbé ran once more for the National List, this time as the number two of the Renewed Democratic Liberty (LIDER).
General elections will be held in Guatemala on June 16, 2019, to elect the President and Congress, with a second round of the presidential elections to be held on August 11, 2019, if no candidate wins a majority in the first round.
A referendum on the territorial dispute with Belize was held in Guatemala on Sunday April 15, 2018. Voters were asked whether the Guatemalan government should request the International Court of Justice to finally resolve the territorial dispute, as part of a commitment signed in December 2008 between Guatemala and Belize. Guatemalan Vice President, Jafeth Cabrera, stated that Belize would hold their referendum in response in May 2018, but Belize released a statement denying this, stating rather that they will hold the referendum after the re-registration process has occurred to ensure an accurate and fair vote.