General elections were held in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

on 16 June 2019, to elect the president,

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 ...

and local councils. A second round of the presidential elections was held on 11 August 2019, since no candidate won a majority in the first round.

Alejandro Giammattei Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla (; born 9 March 1956) is a Guatemalan politician who was the 51st president of Guatemala from 2020 to 2024. He is a former director of the Guatemalan penitentiary system and participated in Guatemala's presid ...

won the election in the second round of voting. Incumbent President

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

was constitutionally barred from running for a second four-year term.

Electoral system

The

president of Guatemala The president of Guatemala (), officially titled President of the Republic of Guatemala (), is the head of state and head of government of Guatemala, elected to a single four-year term. The position of President was created in 1839. Selectio ...

is elected using the

two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

. The 160 members of Congress are elected by two methods; 130 are elected from 22 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 remaining 31 elected from a single nationwide constituency. Seats are elected using

closed list Closed list describes the variant of party-list systems where voters can effectively vote for only 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 any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

, with seats allocated using the

D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is an apportionment method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in proportional representation among political parties. It belongs to ...

.Congress of the Republic
IFES

Candidates

Thelma Aldana Thelma Esperanza Aldana Hernández (; born 27 September 1955) is a Guatemalan jurist and politician who served as President of the Supreme Court from 2011 to 2012 and as attorney general from 2014 to 2018. Early life and education Thelma Aldan ...

's candidature was rejected by authorities in April 2019 on the grounds of alleged corruption cases concerning her, although no evidence was presented. She denied the accusations and attributes them to what she calls the "pact of the corrupt", composed of politicians and business leaders of the country. As former attorney general, she had uncovered several major corruption cases. Aldana appealed the ruling, but the appeal was rejected in May 2019. The candidature of Zury Ríos, daughter of Guatemalan dictator from 1982 to 1983

Efraín Ríos Montt José Efraín Ríos Montt (; 16 June 1926 – 1 April 2018) was a Guatemalan military officer, politician, and dictator who served as ''de facto'' President of Guatemala from 1982 to 1983. His brief tenure as chief executive was one of the blo ...

, was rejected by authorities in May 2019 on the grounds that the country's constitution bars close relatives of coup leaders from serving as president. In April 2019, centre-right candidate Mario Estrada was arrested. He is accused by the American authorities of having made a deal with the

Sinaloa cartel The Sinaloa Cartel (, , after the native Sinaloa region), also known as the ''CDS'', the ''Guzmán-Loera Organization'', the ''Federation'', the ''Sinaloa Cartel'', or the Pacific Cartel, is a large, drug trafficking transnational organized cri ...

, from which he allegedly obtained between 10 and 12 million dollars for his election campaign, and of having ordered the murder of rival candidates.

Declined candidates

Manuel Baldizón Manuel Antonio Baldizón Méndez (, born 6 May 1970) is a Guatemalan politician, lawyer, and hotel entrepreneur. He was the leader of the "Libertad Democrática Renovada" (LIDER) Renewed Democratic Liberty party and was a candidate in the 20 ...

: deputy of the Congress 2004-2008, secretary-general of

Renewed Democratic Liberty Renewed Democratic Liberty (, ''LIDER'', sometimes also translated as Democratic Freedom Revival or Renewed Democratic Liberation) was a centre-right political party in Guatemala. It was founded as a parliamentary group by defectors from the then ...

2010-2014, presidential candidate in 2011 and 2015. *Ernest Steve "Neto" Bran: Mayor of

Mixco Mixco () is a city and municipality in the Guatemala department of Guatemala. It is next to the main Guatemala City municipality and has become part of the Guatemala City Metropolitan Area. Most of Mixco is separated from the City by canyons, f ...

since 2016. * Jorge Pérez: Secretary of Executive Coordination of the Presidency 2000-2002. *

Erik Súñiga The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

: Mayor of

Ayutla, San Marcos Ayutla () is a municipality in the San Marcos Department of Guatemala. It is situated along the Suchiate River natural border with Mexico in the southern part of the department. The municipality center is Ciudad Tecún Umán. There is a combine ...

, 2008-2020. *

Nineth Montenegro Nineth Varenca Montenegro Cottom (born 1958 in San Marcos, Guatemala) is a Guatemalan human rights activist and a victim of state terrorism. She was the first person to face civil resistance on a national level as a result of protesting in the ...

: Deputy of the Congress by National List since 1996, Second Vice President of the Congress 2012-2013, General Secretary of the Encuentro de Guatemala since 2007.

Opinion polls

First round

Second round

Debates

Results

President

Congress

Central American Parliament

Municipal

Notes

References

External links

Tribunal Supremo Electoral
{{Guatemalan elections Presidential elections in Guatemala

General election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

Elections in Guatemala

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Election and referendum articles with incomplete results