Political Parties and Elections
Political parties in Guatemala are generally numerous and unstable. No party has won the presidency more than once and in every election period the majority of the parties are small and newly-formed. Even the longer-lived parties, such as the Christian Democrats (DCG) or the URNG, tend to last less than a decade as significant forces in Guatemalan politics.
For other political parties see List of political parties in Guatemala. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Guatemala.| Candidates — Parties | 1st round | 2nd round | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Álvaro Colom — National Unity of Hope (UNE) | 926,244 | 28.23% | 1,449,153 | 52.82% |
| Otto Pérez Molina — Patriotic Party (PP) | 771,175 | 23.51% | 1,294,645 | 47.18% |
| Alejandro Giammattei — Grand National Alliance (GANA) | 565,270 | 17.23% | ||
| Eduardo Suger — Social Action Centre (CASA) | 244,448 | 7.45% | ||
| Luis Rabbé — Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) | 239,208 | 7.29% | ||
| Mario Estrada — Nationalist Change Union (UCN) | 103,603 | 3.16% | ||
| Rigoberta Menchú — Encounter for Guatemala (EG) | 101,316 | 3.09% | ||
| Fritz García-Gallont — Unionist Party (PU) | 95,743 | 2.92% | ||
| Óscar Castañeda — National Advancement Party (PAN) | 83,826 | 2.56% | ||
| Miguel Ángel Sandoval — Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity–MAIZE (URNG–MAIZ) | 70,080 | 2.14% | ||
| Manuel Conde Orellana — Democratic Union (UD) | 24,971 | 0.76% | ||
| Pablo Monsanto — New Nation Alliance (ANN) | 19,377 | 0.59% | ||
| Héctor Rosales — Authentic Integral Development (DIA) | 18,819 | 0.57% | ||
| Vinicio Cerezo Blandón — Guatemalan Christian Democracy (DCG) | 16,529 | 0.50% | ||
| Valid votes (turnout 60.5%/48.3%) | 3,280,609 | 100.0% | 2,743,798 | 100.0% |
| Blank votes | 132,983 | 50,601 | ||
| Invalid votes | 208,260 | 101,214 | ||
| Total votes | 3,621,852 | 2,895,613 | ||
| Source: Tribunal Supremo Electoral | ||||
| Parties and alliances | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Unity of Hope (Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, UNE) | 721,988 | 22.81% | +4.4% | 48 | +16 |
| Grand National Alliance (Gran Alianza Nacional, GANA) | 522,480 | 16.51% | –7.8%1 | 37 | –101 |
| Patriotic Party (Partido Patriota, PP) | 503,442 | 15.91% | +15.9%1 | 30 | +301 |
| Guatemalan Republican Front (Frente Republicano Guatemalteco, FRG) | 310,038 | 9.80% | –9.9% | 15 | –28 |
| Encounter for Guatemala (Encuentro por Guatemala, EG) | 195,151 | 6.17% | +6.17% | 4 | +4 |
| Unionist Party (Partido Unionista, PU) | 192,983 | 6.10% | +0.7% | 8 | +1 |
| Social Action Centre (Centro de Acción Social, CASA) | 154,718 | 4.89% | +4.9% | 5 | +5 |
| National Advancement Party (Partido de Avanzada Nacional, PAN) | 144,910 | 4.58% | –6.3% | 4 | –13 |
| Nationalist Change Union (Union del Cambio Nacionalista, UCN) | 128,593 | 4.06% | +4.1% | 4 | +4 |
| Guatemalan National Revolucionary Unity–MAIZE (Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca–MAIZ, URNG–MAIZ) |
103,480 | 3.27% | –0.9% | 2 | ±0 |
| Authentic Integral Development (Desarrollo Integral Auténtico, DIA) | 45,142 | 1.43% | –1.6% | — | –1 |
| Democratic Union (Unión Democrática, UD) | 44,488 | 1.41% | –0.8% | 1 | –1 |
| New National Alliance (Alianza Nueva Nación, ANN) | 42,790 | 1.35% | –3.5% | — | –6 |
| Front for Democracy (Frente por la Democracia, EL FRENTE) | 28,798 | 0.91% | +0.9% | — | ±0 |
| Guatemalan Christian Democracy (Democracia Cristiana Guatemalteca, DCG) | 26,190 | 0.83% | –2.4% | — | –1 |
| Valid votes (turnout 60.5%) | 3,165,191 | 100.0 | — | 158 | — |
| Blank votes | 212,615 | ||||
| Invalid votes | 244,082 | ||||
| Total votes | 3,621,888 | ||||
| Source: Tribunal Supremo Electoral and Prensa Libre 1 In the 2003 election, the Patriotic Party was part of the Grand National Alliance, which has since become a party. |
|||||
Read more about this topic: Politics Of Guatemala
Famous quotes containing the words political, parties and/or elections:
“What drivel it all is!... A string of words called religion. Another string of words called philosophy. Half a dozen other strings called political ideals. And all the words either ambiguous or meaningless. And people getting so excited about them they’ll murder their neighbours for using a word they don’t happen to like. A word that probably doesn’t mean as much as a good belch. Just a noise without even the excuse of gas on the stomach.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“Friendship takes place between those who have an affinity for one another, and is a perfectly natural and inevitable result. No professions nor advances will avail.... It is a drama in which the parties have no part to act.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In my public statements I have earnestly urged that there rested upon government many responsibilities which affect the moral and spiritual welfare of our people. The participation of women in elections has produced a keener realization of the importance of these questions and has contributed to higher national ideals. Moreover, it is through them that our national ideals are ingrained in our children.”
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964)