Polls close in Guatemala's presidential runoff as voters hope for real change

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN and SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press AUGUST 20, 2023 — 7:30PM

GUATEMALA CITY — Polls closed in Guatemala on Sunday evening after a tumultuous campaign that pitted an anti-corruption advocate against a former first lady seen as an ally to the outgoing government in a presidential runoff election.

The two candidates offered starkly different paths forward. Former first lady Sandra Torres became an ally of outgoing, deeply unpopular President Alejandro Giammattei in her third bid for the presidency. Her opponent, Bernardo Arévalo, with the progressive Seed Movement, rode a wave of popular resentment toward politics to his surprise spot in the runoff.

But moves to drag the electoral process into the courts after the first round of voting in June led many Guatemalans to wonder what was to come between Sunday's results and the transfer of power Jan. 14.

Central America's most populous country and the region's largest economy continues to struggle with widespread poverty and violence that have driven hundreds of thousands of Guatemalans to migrate to the U.S. in recent years.

Voting appeared to have been peaceful. The Attorney General's Office, which sought unsuccessfully to suspend Arévalo's party before the vote, announced several arrests for interference with the process, but they appeared to be minor.

More:
https://www.startribune.com/polls-close-in-guatemalas-presidential-runoff-as-voters-hope-for-real-change/600298398/