General elections were held in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

on 6 September 2015 to elect the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

, all 158

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

deputies, all 20 deputies to the

Central American Parliament The Central American Parliament ( es, Parlamento Centroamericano), also known as PARLACEN, is the political institution and parliamentary body of the Central American Integration System (SICA). Its headquarters are in Guatemala City. History ...

, and mayors and councils for all 338

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the country. The Renewed Democratic Liberty became the largest party in Congress with 44 seats. Since no presidential candidate received more than 50% of the vote, a run-off took place on 25 October.

Jimmy Morales Jimmy Morales (born James Ernesto Morales Cabrera, ; 18 March 1969) is a Guatemalan politician, actor and comedian. From 2016 to 2020, he served as the 50th president of Guatemala. Early and personal life Morales was born in Guatemala City ...

won the contest, taking 67.4% of the vote, in a landslide victory over Sandra Torres. It was the first presidential election since

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

in which the runner-up of the previous contest did not then go on to win.

Background

Ahead of the election, the La Linea corruption case involving high-ranking officials of the outgoing administration, including President

Otto Pérez Molina Otto Fernando Pérez Molina (born 1 December 1950) is a Guatemalan politician and retired general, who was President of Guatemala from 2012 to 2015. Standing as the Patriotic Party (''Partido Patriota'') candidate, he lost the 2007 president ...

and Vice President Roxana Baldetti, was made public by the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala. Baldetti resigned in May and was arrested on fraud charges in August. More than a dozen ministers and deputy ministers as well as a number of government officials also resigned. Less than a week before the election, President Pérez was stripped of his

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity de ...

, resigned and was arrested.

Alejandro Maldonado Aguirre Alejandro Baltazar Maldonado Aguirre (born January 6, 1936) is a Guatemalan statesman who was the Acting President of Guatemala, following the Congress of Guatemala's acceptance of the resignation of President Otto Pérez Molina on September 3, ...

acts as head of state until a new president is elected and sworn into office. The scandal has further diminished many Guatemalans' trust in the political elite. Some of the participants of mass protests against corruption demanded a postponement of the election due to the crisis and claims of irregularities.

Possible Belize referendum

In May 2015,

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

allowed Guatemala to proceed with a referendum asking the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...

(ICJ) to definitively rule on Guatemala's longstanding territorial dispute against Belize, although Belize by its own admission was not ready for such a vote. A previous treaty between the two countries stipulated that any such vote must be held simultaneously. Guatemala was initially expected to hold its referendum on the issue during its second round of presidential elections in October 2015.Trujillo, Renee
"Presidential Candidate for Guatemala Says Belize Can Still Be Fought For"
, LOVE FM, 9 September 2015 (retrieved 28 September 2015) Belize has yet to announce its vote on the matter.Ramos, Adele
"Belize and Guatemala to amend ICJ compromis"
''

Amandala ''Amandala'' is a Belizean tabloid newspaper. Published twice weekly, it is Belize's largest newspaper. ''Amandala'' was established in 1969 as the print organ of the now-defunct United Black Association for Development (UBAD), but has been polit ...

'', 12 May 2015. (retrieved 14 May 2015) When

was running for president, a Guatemalan journalist asked Morales which Guatemalan historical event he thought was the most deplorable. Morales responded, "The most deplorable event – among all the things that have happened in Guatemala, there are certain things that are not spoken about and which I believe we should. Everything that goes contrary to national unity and territorial integrity are things that should hurt us. Something is happening right now, we are about to lose

. We have not lost it yet. We still have the possibility of going to the

where we can fight that territory or part of that territory. ... I think that it is worth anything that is natural resources and of benefit to the nation."

Electoral system

The President of Guatemala is elected using the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

. The 158 members of Congress are elected by two methods; 31 members are elected by

closed list Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively only vote for political parties as a whole; thus they have no influence on the party-supplied order in which party candidates are elected. If voters had some in ...

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

in a single nationwide constituency, with seats allocated using the

d'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highes ...

. The other 127 seats are elected in 23 multi-member constituencies based on the

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

(with the Central District or

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

as a separate constituency) also using the d'Hondt method. Around 7.5 million people registered for the elections. Members of the armed forces (Air Force, Army, and Navy), people in prison, and Guatemalans living abroad were not allowed to vote. The Tribunal Supremo Electoral (Supreme Electoral Tribunal) officially called for general elections on 2 May 2015.

Campaign

A total of 14 candidates were registered to contest the presidential elections: * Manuel Baldizón Mendez – Renewed Democratic Liberty (LIDER); born 1970; lawyer, entrepreneur, former Congressman, defeated in the runoff of the 2012 presidential election *Mario David García –

Patriotic Party , colorcode = #E4433E , leader1_title = Leaders , leader1_name = Ignacy Potocki Adam Kazimierz CzartoryskiStanisław Małachowski , foundation = , dissolution = , headquarters = Kraków , ideology = Pro-Reform Constituti ...

(PP); born 1946; lawyer and journalist, presenter of the political radio broadcast ''Hablando Claro'' ("Straight Talk") * Sandra Torres Casanova –

National Unity of Hope The National Unity of Hope ( es, Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, UNE) is a political party in Guatemala. It was founded in 2002 and defines itself as a social-democratic and social-christian party. It is the largest political party in Guatemala ...

(UNE); born 1955; former First Lady (wife of ex-president

Álvaro Colom Álvaro Colom Caballeros (; born 15 June 1951) is a Guatemalan politician who was the President of Guatemala from 2008 to 2012, as well as leader of the social-democratic National Unity of Hope (UNE). Early years Colom was born in Guatemala Ci ...

) *Lizardo Sosa – Todos; born 1945; former president of the

Bank of Guatemala The Bank of Guatemala ( es, Banco de Guatemala) is the central bank of Guatemala. It was established in 1945. It is one of the most recognized Brutalist themed architectural structures. Designed by architects José Montes Córdova and Raúl Mino ...

(2006–2010) *Roberto González Díaz-Durán –

Commitment, Renewal and Order Commitment, Renewal and Order ( es, Compromiso, Renovación y Orden, CREO; ) is a political party in Guatemala. History The party was established on 27 October 2010. In the 2011 general elections it nominated Eduardo Suger Eduardo Suger Co ...

(CREO) + Unionist Party (PU); born 1970; entrepreneur, former minister of energy and mines (2004–05), defeated mayoral candidate of

in 2011 *José Ángel López – Encounter for Guatemala (EG); born 1959, entrepreneur and banker, former president of the Rural Development Bank (Banrural), former longterm head of the National Association of Coffee (Anacafé) * Zury Ríos –

Vision with Values Vision with Values ( es, Visión con Valores, ViVa) is a political party in Guatemala. History The party was established on 20 January 2007 by Harold Caballeros. It contested the 2011 general elections in alliance with Encuentro por Guatemala, ...

(ViVa); born 1968; former Congresswoman, daughter of retired general, ex-President and military dictator

Efraín Ríos Montt José Efraín Ríos Montt (; 16 June 1926 – 1 April 2018) was a Guatemalan military officer and politician who served as ''de facto'' President of Guatemala in 1982–83. His brief tenure as chief executive was one of the bloodiest periods i ...

, wife of U.S. Representative Jerry Weller of Illinois *Miguel Ángel Sandoval –

Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity The Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (in Spanish: ''Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca'', URNG-MAIZ or most commonly URNG) is a Guatemalan political party that started as a guerrilla movement but laid down its arms in 1996 and b ...

(URNG-Maiz) +

Winaq Winaq is a left-wing political party in Guatemala whose most notable member is Rigoberta Menchú, who is ethnically Kʼicheʼ. Its name comes from the Kʼicheʼean word for "people" or "humanity", "winaq". It is a party whose roots are in the ...

; born 1949; sociologist and human rights activist, former guerilla fighter, advisor to the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

, unsuccessful candidate in the 2007 presidential election (2.1%) *

–

National Convergence Front The National Convergence Front ( es, Frente de Convergencia Nacional, FCN–Nación) is a right-wing political party in Guatemala. History The party was established on 7 January 2008. It was initiated by a group of retired army officers, includin ...

(FCN); born 1969, former actor, movie director and producer, known for his role in the comedy series ''Moralejas'' ("Morals") alongside his brother Sammy Morales *

Alejandro Giammattei Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla (; born 9 March 1956) is a Guatemalan politician who is serving as the president of Guatemala since 2020. He is a former director of the Guatemalan penitentiary system and participated in Guatemala's president ...

— Fuerza; born 1956; ex-director of the penitentiary system of Guatemala, unsuccessful candidate in the 2007 and 2011 presidential elections (17.2% and 1.1%, respectively) *Mario Estrada –

National Change Union The National Change Union ( es, Unión del Cambio Nacional), sometimes translated as the Union of National Change, was a national liberal political party in Guatemala. History In the legislative elections held on 9 September 2007, the party s ...

(UCN); born 1960; former Congressman, unsuccessful candidate in the 2007 and 2011 presidential elections (3.2% and 8.7%, respectively) *Luis Fernando Pérez – Institutional Republican Party (PRI); born 1969; manager, Congressman *Juan Guillermo Gutiérrez –

National Advancement Party The National Advancement Party ( es, Partido de Avanzada Nacional) is a conservatism, conservative political party in Guatemala. It was founded in 1989. In the 1990 and 1995 elections its presidential candidate was Álvaro Arzú who won in 1995 ...

(PAN); born 1956; entrepreneur, unsuccessful candidate in the 2011 presidential election (2.8%) *Aníbal García – New Republic Movement (MNR); running mate of Nobel Prize laureate and unsuccessful candidate

Rigoberta Menchú Rigoberta Menchú Tum (; born 9 January 1959) is a K'iche' Guatemalan human rights activist, feminist, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the rights of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples during and after ...

in the 2011 presidential election In the buildup to the elections the

(PP) and Renewed Democratic Liberty (LIDER) were suspended due to repeated offences. However, all parties were reinstated before elections were called.

Opinion polls

A poll released on 3 September gave Morales 25% of the vote, compared to 22.9% for Manuel Baldizon and 18.4% for Sandra Torres.

Results

President

The front runners: Morales, Baldizón and Torres, were expected to competitively compete for the position of President. In the first round, Morales gained 24% of the vote, followed by a closely fought battle between Torres and Baldizón, with less than 20,000 votes separating the two. Since no candidate received a 50%

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-WebsterJimmy Morales Is Elected New President in Guatemala
''The New York Times'', 26 October 2015

Congress

In Congress, Baldizón's LIDER gained 31 seats on their previous election making them the largest party with 45 seats. Torres' UNE retained second position with 32 seats, despite losing 16. Competing in their first election, Todos captured 18 seats. PP suffered the greatest loss, losing 38 seats overall, down to 18. Morales' FCN gained 11 seats.

Reactions

Following his victory, Morales vowed "I will try with all my heart and strength not to disappoint you." The US-based

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

described this a rightward shift among voters in both the Americas and Europe.Voters In Poland, Guatemala And Argentina Surprise Establishment Candidates
NPR, 26 October 2015

References

External links

Tribunal Supremo Electoral
{{Guatemalan elections Elections in Guatemala 2015 in Guatemala

Presidential elections in Guatemala