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1 1 (June 11, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbaan0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 0 Updated July 5, 2019 Guatemala: Corruption, Uncertainty Mar August 2019 Elections Guatemala held national elections for president, the entire 158-seat congress, 340 mayors, and other local posts on June 16, 2019. The list of candidates on the ballot was finalized one week before voting. Candidates were still being ruled ineligible-some due to corruption allegations-and appealing rulings in early June. Elements of the government allowed some candidates to run and impeded the registrations of others. Such uncertainty likely will lead many to question the outcome. Since none of the 19 presidential candidates won the first round with more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will compete in a second round on August 11. The winner is due to be inaugurated in January 2020. Some 7.6 million Guatemalans have registered to vote in this year's elections. Corruption is once again a primary concern for voters. In response to public outcry over past illegal campaign financing and other electoral crimes, Guatemala adopted electoral law reforms in 2016. Eleven of Guatemala's 27 parties face charges of illicit or unreported campaign financing, and several candidates face judicial proceedings. Twenty-four parties registered presidential candidates. Registered candidates have immunity from prosecution. President Jimmy Morales will not be running for reelection, since the Guatemalan constitution limits presidents to one term. But Morales himself is being investigated for corruption and has taken actions that appear to have advantaged political parties and criminal organizations linked in corruption. The president fired some reformist officials, for example, and chose not to renew the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), which helps Guatemalan institutions enforce campaign finance laws. Weakening reform and enforcement efforts could further enable drug cartels and other criminal organizations to continue financing politicians. Results of First Round The controversial disqualification of several candidates contributed to low voter turnout. On July 1, a recount confirmed that Sandra Torres of the center-left National Unity of Hope (UNE) party won 26% of the popular vote and Alejandro Giammattei of the right-wing Vamos party won just over 14%; they are to go to the second round. Torres lost in the second round in 2015, and a recent poll showed 30% of voters said they would never vote for her. Torres, a longtime politician and former first lady, has been implicated in illegal campaign financing in the 2015 elections. Giammattei was the director of the penitentiary https://crsrepc system (2006-2008) during the Oscar Berger administration. Over the past 20 years, he has run for president four times with four different parties. In 2010, the CICIG and the attorney general's office charged him with participating in extrajudicial killings. He was acquitted in 2012 after the courts determined that the case against him lacked sufficient evidence. UNE won the largest share of congressional seats, but with 44 out of 160 seats, it will still lack a majority. Fifteen parties split the other seats, indicating political gridlock is likely to continue and reform likely will be limited. Guatemala 2019 Presidentil Candidates: Determining Who Was Elgble Guatemala's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) is an important part of Guatemala's democracy, as it organizes all electoral contests and enforces the country's electoral rules. Although it is an independent government institution, the TSE has been subject to political pressure and threats this year from multiple sources. According to various reports, political and business leaders have bribed and intimidated members of the TSE and other government offices and tribunals to influence the results of the elections. The TSE eliminated two of the three most popular candidates, Thelma Aldana and Zury Rios, from the race. Guatemala 2019 Electoral Calendar JANUARY 18: Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announces general elections JANUARY 19: Start of candidate registration through the TSE's Citizen Registry FEBRUARY 19: Last day for Guatemalans to register to vote MARCH 17: Last day to register candidates MARCH 18: Official start date for campaign JUNE 14: End of campaign JUNE 16: General elections AUGUST I1: Runoff elections Source: Supreme Electoral Tribunal. Aldana, a former attorney general, is internationally renowned for pursuing corruption cases against wealthy and powerful business and political figures, including former presidents Otto P6rez Molina and Alvaro Colom. By many accounts, those opposed to her anti-corruption platform applied pressure to prevent her candidacy with the center- left Semilla Movement. orts.congress.go

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