GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemalans vote in a presidential runoff on Sunday that sees a former first lady Sandra Torres compete against the son of a former president.
Sandra Torres, mainly seen as continuity candidate for the political establishment, is contesting against the anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo – who defied predictions with his second-place position in the first round of elections in June.
Torres won 16 per cent of the first-round vote, with Arévalo coming in with 11.8 per cent of the votes cast. Still, more than 24 per cent of voters cast blank or invalid votes and about 40 per cent of registered voters abstained, which observers have attributed to high levels of disenchantment with the country’s electoral system after several opposition candidates who spoke out against corruption were disqualified, according to CNN.
As an outsider candidate, Arévalo’s surprise entry in the second round has reinvigorated the presidential cycle, which has been plagued by accusations of government interference and fears of democratic backsliding.
Graft accelerats among Guatemala’s political class
Rights groups say impunity and graft accelerated among Guatemala’s political class after a UN-backed anti-corruption commission CICIG credited for helping in hundreds of convictions, was disbanded in 2019.
Prosecutors and judges associated with the commission were detained, interrogated, and many have been forced to flee the country amid high rates of poverty and malnutrition.
Worries about democratic backsliding started to mount in this year’s election cycle as anti-corruption candidates were prevented from running, generating widespread criticism from the United States and Western allies.
