Guatemala election, 2003

Sponsorship the way you would do it

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 RepÃÂÃÂºblica), municipal governments, and Guatemala's deputies to the Central American Parliament.

Table of contents

1 Presidential Election

1....1 :
1....2 :

Presidential Election

The ruling Republican Front of Guatemala nominated former military ruler EfraÃÂÃÂn RÃÂÃÂos Montt to succeed outgoing president Alfonso Portillo Cabrera. RÃÂÃÂos Montt's human rights record from his time in power (1982-83) led to strong opposition from both inside and outside the country. In the first round of voting, RÃÂÃÂos Montt came third behind the centrist mayor of Guatemala City, ÃÂÃÂscar Berger, and the left-wing candidate ÃÂÃÂlvaro 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, in which Berger was victorious with a 54% share of the vote.

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       %

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ÃÂÃÂscar BERGER Perdomo               PP-MR-PSN     903,343     34.5

ÃÂÃÂlvaro COLOM Caballeros            UNE           694,082     26.5

EfraÃÂÃÂn RÃÂÃÂOS MONTT                  FRG           503,679     19.2

Others                                           520,046     19.8

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Total                                          2,621,150

-------------------------------------------------------------------

SECOND ROUND: 28 DECEMBER 2003

Candidate                          Party         Votes       %

-------------------------------------------------------------------

ÃÂÃÂscar BERGER Perdomo               PP-MR-PSN   1,235,303   54.13

ÃÂÃÂlvaro 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 NaciÃÂÃÂ³n (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, using figures from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal website.