The candidate Bernardo Arévalo de León, of the progressive political party Semilla, was elected this Sunday as the new president of Guatemala after widely beating his opponent, former first lady Sandra Torres. With 90% counted, Arévalo received 2.2 million votes in favor of him, which represents 59% of the total, while Torres only obtained 1.3 million ballots in favor of her, which represents 35 %.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala (TSE) will make the electoral result official in the next few hours, which will allow Arévalo de León to take the presidential seat for a period of four years. The diplomat and son of former president Juan José Arévalo will replace the current president, Alejandro Giammattei.
According to the TSE, Arévalo de León swept the elections with an advantage of more than 900,000 over his opponent Torres, a result that surprised political analysts. According to the electoral authorities, a total of 3.7 million Guatemalans attended the polls, representing 40% of the 9.3 million citizens eligible to participate. So far, 44,586 blank votes and 129,050 invalid votes have been registered, according to the TSE.
After the victory of the Semilla party, the local media have indicated that Arévalo de León could be dismissed by the current government. In recent weeks, the Guatemalan Prosecutor's Office has accused Arévalo's party of an alleged case of false signatures in its creation process in 2018. Last Thursday, the prosecutor in charge of the case, Rafael Curruchiche, assured that he could issue arrest warrants. capture and requests for trials before party members, including the winner of election day.
Arévalo de León announced that one of the first measures after taking power will be to remove Consuelo Porras, a prosecutor who has led charges against anti-corruption prosecutors, judges and journalists who have been forced to flee the country, and Curruchiche, both accused of imprison alleged 'opponents' of the Giammattei government. In addition, the winner affirmed that he will "regain control of the streets and the territories that are now in the hands of criminals" upon becoming president. According to local sources, many voters hope that the new president can put an end to years of violence and insecurity in Guatemala.
According to the Guatemalan media, the presidential elections are being watched by the international community, especially the United States, which is awaiting the outcome of the prosecution's accusation.
"This victory belongs to the people of Guatemala and now united as the Guatemalan people we are going to fight against corruption," Arévalo de León announced at a press conference after his victory. The current president, Giammattei, congratulated Arévalo for X, formerly known as Twitter, and invited him to start an "orderly transition" once the results are formalized. That being said, the winner promised during his electoral campaign to "purge the institutions co-opted by the corrupt" and start the "fight for justice" so that Guatemalans who have been exiled can return to the country.
