Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo raising his hands at a political rally. Photo: Cristina Chiquin/Reuters/File photo.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—With 100% of the votes counted, centrist politician Bernardo ArĂ©valo de LeĂłn of the Semilla party is the next president of Guatemala after Sunday’s elections.
As shown in the final report by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Arévalo obtained 2,441,661 votes (58.01%), while Sandra Torres of the National Unity of Hope party obtained 1,567,472 votes (37.24%).
On Sunday, ArĂ©valo said that he accepted “with great humility this victory that the people of Guatemala have given us.”
According to Guatemala’s TSE, the electoral roll reached 9,361,068 voters. There were 3,400 voting centers, 800 of those being new centers to make voting more accessible for citizens, particularly in rural areas.
Pleno de Magistrados del #TSEGuatemala realiza conferencia de prensa, en el marco de los resultados electorales preliminares de la segunda elecciĂłn presidencial.
TransmisiĂłn en vivo https://t.co/nqMscEwQkV
¡Elecciones democráticas y transparentes! 🇬🇹#EleccionesGT2023 pic.twitter.com/rFY5Yh58Bs
— TSE Guatemala (@TSEGuatemala) August 21, 2023
TSE also stated that the logistics were a “success, supported by the collaboration of more than 125,000 volunteers that, added alongside the TSE staff, totaled about half a million Guatemalans at the service of citizens.”
Incidents
On election day, there was an incident where homemade devices exploded in two polling centers in the outskirts of Guatemala City, but no injuries or deaths were reported.
Despite this incident, the electoral authorities preliminarily confirmed that the electoral process proceeded normally for most of the day.
The current electoral process has been characterized by the protagonism of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Since July 12, the prosecutor’s office has tried to ban the Semilla party and prevent the participation of ArĂ©valo.
2/2 Al extender las congratulaciones al Presidente Electo, se reitera la voluntad del Gobierno Bolivariano, de trabajar de forma constructiva y respetuosa en favor de los intereses comunes de nuestras naciones, impulsando la unidad latinoamericana.
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) August 21, 2023
Venezuela’s message
Venezuelan Minister for Foreign Affairs Yván Gil congratulated the Guatemalan people for the electoral process and Bernardo Arévalo.
“The government of Venezuela expresses its congratulations to the Guatemalan people for the elections held this Sunday, August 20, 2023, in which Mr. Bernardo ArĂ©valo has been elected to the presidency for the next constitutional term,” wrote Minister Gil on social media.
“In extending congratulations to the president-elect, we reiterate the will of the Venezuelan government to work constructively and respectfully in favor of our nations’ common interests, promoting Latin American unity,” Gil added in a second post.
Orinoco Tribune Special by staff
OT/JRE/SF
