Guatemala holds runoff
presidential election
Guatemalans will choose
a new president between
leftist businessman
Alvaro Colom and retired
general Otto Perez
Molina. in the
presidential election
runoff on today.
Almost 6 million
registered voters are
expected to participate
in the voting, which
begins at 7:00 a.m.
local time (1300 GMT)
and ends at 6:00 p.m.
(2400 GMT).
Hundreds of observers
from the European Union
and Organization of
American States will be
monitoring the voting
process.
In the first round of
elections on Sept. 9,
Perez of the right wing
Patriotic Party took
21.35 percent of the
vote, while Colom from
National Unity Hope
garnered 25.62 percent.
Runoff elections were
necessary as neither of
the top two candidates
netted more than 50
percent of the vote.
The recent polls
suggested the two rivals
had equal levels of
support.
In the parliamentary
elections also held on
Sept. 9, the National
Unity Hope won 48 seats,
making it the biggest
party in the 158-seat
unicameral congress. The
Patriotic Party took the
third place with 30
seats.
Guatemala has witnessed
a bloody presidential
campaign, in which over
50 candidates and
political party
activists were killed.
The Latin American
country has 51 percent
of the population living
in poverty and 15.2
percent in extreme
poverty.
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