Off the wire
• Sony's "War Room" leads North American box office  • 1st LD Writethru: Mother of toddler killed in Jewish arson attack dies of sustained wounds  • Urgent: Mother of toddler killed in Jewish arson attack dies of her sustained wounds  • Pakistan army chief shows concerns at Afghan security situation  • China's "Belt and Road" initiatives to strengthen Dubai's role in Mideast: official  • Hamas to let Gaza members to attend PNC sessions in Ramallah: official  • Majority of Britons favor to quit Europe: new poll  • Roundup: Over 10,000 refugees cross over from Hungary to Austria, Germany: media  • China Exclusive: China stock market stabilizes after roller coaster ride  • Sudan gets from UK additional 10 mln USD in humanitarian aid  
You are here: 　 Home

Guatemala holds general election amid call for peace

Xinhua, September 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Guatemalans on Sunday went to polling booths across Guatemala in hopes of electing a new leader while the country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) called on citizens to remain calm and peaceful in the process.

The general elections came just days after former President Otto Perez Molina resigned from his position and was jailed after a judge weighed charging him in a huge customs corruption scandal. Vice-President Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre acted as Interim President as of Thursday.

Altogether 2,796 polling stations were opened to voters at 7 a.m., local time, or 1300 GMT, for the day's general elections. There were 7.5 million registered voters, TSE announced in a press release.

Through Sunday's general elections, the Guatemalan voters were expected to choose a new president, vice-president and 3,957 public positions.

There were 23,497 candidates competing for the nealy 4,000 positions, including 338 mayors and 158 Congress representatives, in addition to president and vice president.

The elections were observed by around 5,000 international and 15,000 national monitors, according to Latin American multimedia platform TeleSUR.

Sunday's general elections ended at 6 p.m. local time and the results will be announced later.

There are 14 candidates in the race for presidency. If none of them receive more than 50 percent of the vote, then a second round of election will be necessary between the two most voted-for candidates.

Polls in the run-up to Sunday's vote showed comedian and political outsider Jimmy Morales garnered 25 percent support, while support for right-wing lawyer Manuel Baldizon, who had been a front-runner for months, dropped to 22.9 percent. The two were followed by Sandra Torres, the ex-wife of former President Alvaro Colom, with 18.4 percent support.

The date for the second round of election is set at Oct. 25. Endit