Guatemala City (EFE).- The left-wing candidate Bernardo Arévalo de León aims to be the big surprise in the Guatemalan presidential elections, with 25 percent of the votes officially counted, waiting to confirm if it is maintained the trend in your favor.
Arévalo de León, 64, ranked eighth in the latest polls released this week but remains in second place after 25 percent of the tables counted (1.3 million votes counted), with 12.70 % of ballots in your favor.
First place for Sandra Torres Casanova
The first place goes to the former first lady Sandra Torres Casanova, who adds a total of 14.74% of the added votes, so both would face each other in a second round in August since neither of them had 50% of the votes.
Arévalo de León participates with the Semilla party, a political group born from the marches and demonstrations against corruption in 2015, which led to the fall of the Government of Otto Pérez Molina (2012-2015).
“This is not the time to claim victory. We are aware, we are measured, and we will wait to see more solid results, ”said the left-wing candidate in a message released through his social networks.
The report on the official website of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal indicated that at the edge of 10:45 local time (04:45 GMT on Monday) just over 1.3 million votes had been counted.
Always according to the same source, the calculation of abstentionism so far is 45%, pending the scrutiny of the rest of the ballots.
The third place so far and the one who seeks to sneak into the second position and therefore in the second round is the lawyer Manuel Conde, who belongs to the official party, Vamos, and accumulates 8.35% of the votes.
The polls predicted a fight for second place
The polls released in recent weeks and days predicted a fight for second place between the former diplomat Edmond Mulet and the daughter of the coup dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, Zury Ríos Sosa.
However, Ríos Sosa and Mulet are located with 25% scrutinized with 6.84% and 6.93%, respectively.
A total of 9.3 million were authorized to cast their votes this Sunday in the 3,482 voting centers authorized by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
In addition to the president and vice president for the period 2024-2028, Guatemalans also decided on Sunday their new Congress (160 deputies), the Central American Parliament (20 legislators) and 340 municipal corporations.