GUATEMALA CITY, Sept. 6 (UPI) — Guatemala is holding presidential elections on Sunday just days after former President Otto Pérez Molina resigned and was arrested amid a bribery and corruption scandal.
The elections are going forward although many in Guatemala have called for them to be postponed due to recent events. Many have also urged voters to wear black clothes as if they were mourning, aiming to show skepticism of whether the election will improve the country’s political climate.
“We don’t trust politicians,” Leonel Sánchez, a middle-class private auditor, told The Wall Street Journal. “This fight [for a clean government] will have to go on, regardless of who wins today.”
A clear candidate is not expected to win and a runoff election will likely be held Oct. 25. In Guatemala, a candidate needs to win more than 50 percent of votes, otherwise the runoff is held. The latest polls indicate a narrow race between three candidates.
The leading presidential candidates are businessman Manuel Baldizón, former first lady Sandra Torres and comedian Jimmy Morales. A new Congress will also be elected as well as hundreds of mayors.
Perez Molina, whose term would have ended Jan. 14, resigned Wednesday and was later arrested for his alleged involvement in a bribery and corruption scandal. He is being held in a military prison and is facing charges of fraud, illicit association and corruption.
