| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Congreso de la República / Congress of the Republic |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
9 September 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats of the Congress of the Republic on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 9 September 2007
parliamentary elections were held in parallel with presidential elections.
In 2003
the Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) became the largest party in the Congress with 42 seats of the 158 seats. The Grand National Alliance (GANA) took 41 seats and the centre-left National Unity of Hope (UNE) 31. The GANA's leader
Mr. Óscar Berger
defeated Mr. Álvaro Colom (UNE) in the run-off presidential elections.
Fourteen of the 15 political parties that participated in the 2007 parliamentary elections also endorsed presidential candidates.
Mr. Colom again represented the UNE. Mr. Otto Pérez Molina - a former head of military intelligence during Guatemala's 1960-1996 Civil War - was the candidate of the right-wing conservative Patriotic Party (PP). In 2003
the PP had been part of the Grand National Alliance (GANA)
which endorsed the director of Guatemala's prison system
Mr. Alejandro Giammattei
as its presidential candidate in 2007. The Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) chose the outgoing Speaker of Congress
General Efraín Ríos Montt
as its presidential candidate. Mr. Ríos Montt later withdrew his presidential candidature but still led the FRG into the parliamentary elections.
As in 2003
poverty and crime remained main issues in the 2007 elections. Although President Berger had managed to stabilize the country's economy
the gap between the rich and the poor remained a major underlying problem. Guatemala also has the highest murder rate in Latin America.
About a half of Guatemala's population are indigenous Maya Indian (Mayan) people. In the 2007 elections
the Encounter for Guatemala (EG) endorsed Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Mayan activist
Ms. Rigoberta Menchú
as its presidential candidate. In 1999
she had brought a petition to try General Ríos Montt in a Spanish tribunal for crimes against humanity
accusing him of giving orders to carry out acts of genocide in 1981 and 1982.
Mr. Colom (UNE)
a former deputy minister of the economy
argued that crime was caused by Guatemala's deep social problems
including poverty
marginalization
and discrimination. He pledged to introduce a comprehensive "human solidarity programme" to deal with crime and achieve security in the country. He promised to reform the security forces and the judicial system
while creating jobs and providing a social programme for the poor.
Mr. Pérez (PP) promised to increase the police force by 50 per cent
to use the army to clamp down on criminals
and to re-introduce the death penalty. Mr. Giammattei (GANA) vowed to introduce tougher regulations to deal with crime.
At least 50 people were killed during the election campaign
making the poll the bloodiest since the end of the Civil War. Victims included the 14 year old daughter of a UNE parliamentary candidate
and an assistant to the UNE's vice-presidential candidate. Some of the killings were reportedly caused by drug gangs who wished to see candidates of their choice accede to political office. The Organization of American States (OAS) urged the government to launch an investigation into the killings.
Approximately 60.46 per cent of the country's 5.9 million registered voters turned out at the polls. A total of 34
000 police officers and soldiers were deployed on polling day.
The Parliamentary Confederation of the Americas declared that the elections themselves had been held in an orderly manner.
The final results gave 51 seats to the UNE. The GANA and the PP took 35 and 31 seats respectively
while the FRG took only 14
losing 28. Seven other parties won fewer than ten seats each. In all
19 women were elected.
In the presidential elections
none of the candidates won the required 50 per cent of the votes to be elected in the first round. The run-off elections were held between Mr. Colom (UNE) and Mr. Pérez (PP) on 4 November. Mr. Colom was elected with over 58 per cent of the votes.
On 14 January 2008
Mr. Colom was officially sworn in
becoming the first leftist president since the end of the Civil War.
On the same day
the newly-elected Congress held its first session and elected Mr. Arturo Eduardo Meyer Maldonado (UNE) as its new Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 9 September 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
5'990'029
3'621'852 (60.46%)
341'243
3'280'609 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| National Unity for Hope Party (UNE) |
|
926'244 |
|
|
28.23 |
|
|
| Great National Alliance (GANA) |
|
565'270 |
|
|
17.23 |
|
|
| Patriotic Party (PP) |
|
771'175 |
|
|
23.51 |
|
|
| Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) |
|
239'208 |
|
|
7.29 |
|
|
| Unionist Party (PU) |
|
95'743 |
|
|
2.92 |
|
|
| Center of Social Action (CASA) |
|
244'448 |
|
|
7.45 |
|
|
| Nationalist Change Union (UCN) |
|
103'603 |
|
|
3.16 |
|
|
| Encounter for Guatemala (EG) |
|
101'316 |
|
|
3.09 |
|
|
| National Advancement Party (PAN) |
|
83'826 |
|
|
2.56 |
|
|
| Guatemalan Revolutionary Unity (URNG) |
|
70'080 |
|
|
2.14 |
|
|
| Democratic Union (UD) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Number of women |
|
|
|
| National Unity for Hope Party (UNE) |
51
|
9 |
|
|
|
| Great National Alliance (GANA) |
35
|
3 |
|
|
|
| Patriotic Party (PP) |
31
|
3 |
|
|
|
| Guatemalan Republican Front (FRG) |
14
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Unionist Party (PU) |
7
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Center of Social Action (CASA) |
5
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Nationalist Change Union (UCN) |
5
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Encounter for Guatemala (EG) |
4
|
2 |
|
|
|
| National Advancement Party (PAN) |
3
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Guatemalan Revolutionary Unity (URNG) |
2
|
0 |
|
|
|
| Democratic Union (UD) |
1
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
139
19
12.03%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- Congress of the Republic (17.09.2007)
- http://elecciones2007.tse.org.gt/
- http://www.prensalibre.com/ |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
