Guatemala election, 2003
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Template:Politics of Guatemala A General Election was held in Guatemala on 9 November 2003. Voters went to the polls to elect a new President (and Vice-President), a new legislature (deputies for the unicameral Congreso de la República), municipal governments, and Guatemala's deputies to the Central American Parliament.
Presidential Election
The ruling Republican Front of Guatemala (FRG) nominated former military ruler Efraín Ríos Montt to succeed outgoing president Alfonso Portillo Cabrera. A constitutional ban on former coup leaders (Ríos Montt during 1982-83) led to strong conflict inside the country, including the beseigement of Guatemala for a day. In the first round of voting, Ríos Montt came third behind the centrist mayor of Guatemala City, Óscar Berger, and the more left-wing candidate Álvaro Colom.
Since no candidate secured an absolute majority in this first round, a run-off vote between the top two candidates was held on 28 December, which Berger won with 54% of the votes.
National Summary of Voting
Parties:
- FRG – Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (Republican Front of Guatemala)
- PP-MR-PSN – Partido Patriota, Movimiento Reformador, Partido Solidaridad Nacional (Patriotic Party, Reformist Movement, National Solidarity Party)
- UNE – Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (National Union for Hope)
FIRST ROUND: 9 NOVEMBER 2003 =================================================================== Candidate Party Votes % ------------------------------------------------------------------- Óscar BERGER Perdomo PP-MR-PSN 903,343 34.5 Álvaro COLOM Caballeros UNE 694,082 26.5 Efraín RÍOS MONTT FRG 503,679 19.2 Others 520,046 19.8 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 2,621,150 -------------------------------------------------------------------
SECOND ROUND: 28 DECEMBER 2003 =================================================================== Candidate Party Votes % ------------------------------------------------------------------- Óscar BERGER Perdomo PP-MR-PSN 1,235,303 54.13 Álvaro COLOM Caballeros UNE 1,046,868 45.87 Spoilt/invalid votes 67,106 2.83 Ballot papers left blank 24,192 1.02 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 2,373,469 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Legislative election
Parties:
- ANN – Alianza Nueva Nación (New Nation Alliance)
- FRG – Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (Republican Front of Guatemala)
- PAN – Partido de Avanzada Nacional (National Advancement Party)
- PP-MR-PSN – Partido Patriota, Movimiento Reformador, Partido Solidaridad Nacional (Patriotic Party, Reformist Movement, National Solidarity Party)
- PU – Partido Unionista (Unionist Party)
- UNE – Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (National Union for Hope)
NATIONAL SUMMARY =================================================================== Registered voters: 5,073,282 Total votes cast: 2,764,965 54.5 Valid votes: 2,318,474 83.8 Invalid and blank votes: 446,491 16.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Party Voters % Seats ------------------------------------------------------------------- ANN 70,397 03.0 7 FRG 470,554 20.3 41 PAN 250,434 10.8 17 PP-MR-PSN 592,964 25.6 49 PU 138,713 06.0 7 UNE 426,184 18.4 30 Others 369,228 15.9 7 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 2,318,474 158 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Adam Carr's Election Archive (http://psephos.adam-carr.net/guatemala/guatemalaindex.html), using figures from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (http://www.tse.org.gt) website.