Presidential Elections in Guatemala
Guatemala's presidential elections will be held on September 9th, but if the
current polls are accurate, there will likely be a 2nd vuelta on November 4th between the Union Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE)
lead by Alvaro Colom (41.1%) and the Partido Patriota (PP) lead by General
Otto Perez Molina (38%).Throughout
the year, the candidates covered the country with their political propaganda,
leaving no lamppost, wall, or even rock untouched by their parties’ colours and
slogans. The three parties at the head of the polls all went over the allotted
campaigning amounts and with the elections less than a week away; smear
campaigns have become more common.
The
electoral process has been plagued by violence since the campaign start with 49
political activists murdered, and no arrests have been made as of yet. To
ensure the safety of voters and the integrity of the electoral process, over 19,000
police, 11,000 army units and 70,000 observers will be monitoring the
democratic process on Sunday September 9th; but there is a
substantiated fear of violent outbreaks, especially in the 30 municipalities
catalogued as most “conflictive”, once the votes start being tallied and
preliminary outcomes are made public.
Rigoberta
Menchu’s candidacy was greatly anticipated, and although her campaigning
efforts and proposed plans have not been enough to place her at the top of the
polls (she is at a distant 5th place), her participation has helped
to further dialogue on issues affecting Guatemalan society like gender, interculturalism
(specifically in education) and indigenous rights.
General
Otto Perez Molina’s slogan “con mano
dura” (with a strong hand), Alvaro Colom’s “Tu esperanza es mi compromiso” (Your hope is my commitment) and
Giammatei’s “porque los buenos somos mas”
(because we, the good guys, are
majority) reflects voters’ main preoccupation: the increasing violence in
Guatemala (mainly gang related) and a faulty judicial system. Each party has
tackled the issue in different ways but the Guatemalan voters will ultimately
decide the effectiveness of their campaigns at the voting booths on September 9th.
This article was posted by Yvonne Faass, our editor in Guatemala.
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