2007 Guatemalan general election explained

Country:Guatemala
Previous Election:2003 Guatemalan general election
Previous Year:2003
Next Election:2011 Guatemalan general election
Next Year:2011
Module:
Embed:yes
Election Name:Presidential election
Type:presidential
Election Date:9 September 2007 (first round)
4 November 2007 (second round)
Turnout:60.36% (first round) 2.47pp
48.20% (second round) 1.42pp
Image1:Foto oficial de Álvaro Colom (cropped) (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Álvaro Colom
Popular Vote1:1,449,533
Percentage1:52.81%
Party1:National Unity of Hope
Running Mate1:Rafael Espada
Nominee2:Otto Pérez Molina
Popular Vote2:1,295,108
Percentage2:47.19%
Party2:Patriotic Party (Guatemala)
Running Mate2:Ricardo Castillo
President
Before Election:Óscar Berger
Before Party:Grand National Alliance (Guatemala)
Posttitle:President-elect
After Election:Álvaro Colom
After Party:National Unity of Hope

General elections were held in Guatemala on 9 September to elect a new President and Vice President of the Republic, 158 congressional deputies, and 332 mayors. As no presidential candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 4 November.

Colom was elected President of Guatemala. It would mark the first time since 1954 that Guatemala had a left wing government.[1]

Presidential and vice-presidential candidates

A full list appears on the Electoral Court's website.

Opinion polls

PollsterDate Undecided
Siglo XXINovember 200747.452.6
BGCNovember 200748.052.0
Prensa LibreNovember 200747.053.0
El PeriódicoNovember 200739.435.125.5
El PeriódicoOctober 200737.339.822.9
Siglo XXIOctober 200746.253.8
Prensa LibreOctober 200745.654.4
Prensa LatinaSeptember 200734.726.813.3
Siglo XXISeptember 200741.439.39.55
Prensa LibreSeptember 200731.731.814.63.14.527.6
El PeriódicoAugust 200730.727.710.55.71.716.7
Prensa LibreAugust 20072217.57.672.423.1728.83
El PeriódicoJuly 20073323.18.95.518.5
Prensa LibreJuly 200721.3314.428.172.422.537.92
El PeriódicoJune 20072813.25.86.733.4
Prensa LibreJune 200720.7512.258.171.51
El PeriódicoMay 200725.915.35.66.236
Prensa LibreMay 200720.611.47.12.91.5
El PeriódicoApril 200728.610.46.35.642.3
Prensa LibreApril 200726.5109.62.751.25
El PeriódicoJanuary 200734.615.90.21.429.8
Prensa LibreJanuary 200721.2310.527.542.180.60

Results

President

Around 60% of the voting public participated in the 9 September first-round vote. However, no candidate secured more than 50% of the vote, and so a run-off election was held between Álvaro Colom of the National Unity of Hope (UNE) and former Army General Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party (PP) on 4 November 2007.[4] [5]

The ruling Grand National Alliance (GANA), after placing third in the first-round vote, declined to endorse either Colom or Pérez Molina for the second round.[6]

With 97.23% of the vote counted in the second round, Colom was declared the winner with just over 52 percent.

Congress

The National Unity of Hope (UNE) made huge gains in the election, gaining 20 seats. The Patriotic Party (PP), which ran independent of the Grand National Alliance (GANA), won 29 seat, while GANA won 37 seats.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: publications/newsletter/2008/January 2008/interview. Transparency International e.V.. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160325125627/http://archive.transparency.org/publications/newsletter/2008/january_2008/interview. 2016-03-25.
  2. http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6248535.html Guatemala Nobel Prize winner Menchu halts presidential campaign
  3. http://canalmenchu.blogspot.com/2007/08/mench-no-ha-cerrado-campaa-por-falta-de.html Menchú NO ha cerrado campaña por falta de recursos
  4. http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/14718 Colom Far Ahead of Rivals in Guatemala
  5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6986834.stm Guatemala heads for run-off vote
  6. http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={EF1E4EE3-1117-4BEE-AABF-B412A09AF3CF}&language=EN GANA Party Stays Neutral