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The voting centers closed this Sunday in Guatemala to start the vote count, on an election day with incidents in at least 5 municipalities of the 340 that make up the Central American country.
The closure of the 3,482 voting centers took place at 6:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT on Monday), as established by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), pending the individual vote count.
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Election day had begun in Guatemala at 07:00 local time (13:00 GMT on Sunday) and ended without major incidents, according to the same entity.
The figures for abstentionism by the 9.3 million eligible voters will also be known in later hours, since Guatemalan law does not record figures electronically and also prohibits polls of any kind this Sunday.
“The day was carried out without anomalies,” Alejandra Dionicio, who supervised a polling center in Guatemala City, specifically in the Belén public institute, told EFE, where she estimated a “good number” of voters.
The counting of ballots, five in total for each vote, is carried out manually by the electoral boards of each polling station and voting center.
Incidents in various municipalities
At least 5 of the 340 municipalities that make up Guatemala have suffered problems and incidents in their electoral process this Sunday, according to various sources.
The authorities have confirmed the suspension of the elections in the San José del Golfo municipality, in the department (province) of Guatemala (center), due to the resignation of the officials in charge of the elections due to threats against them.
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This caused the anti-riot forces to move to the place and disperse several people from the voting centers, with no injuries being reported for the moment.
“The current mayor is carrying voters and we have doubts about the legality of the process. An election cannot be held like this,” Ana Gudiel, a table prosecutor for the National Unity of Hope party, told EFE.
Similarly, in the municipality of San Martín Zapotitlán, in the department of Retalhuleu (southeast), various ballot papers were burned by people upset over the alleged transfer of false voters from another town.
The incidents in San Martín Zapotitlán were also responded to by the anti-riot forces of the Guatemalan National Civil Police (PNC), with one person injured by tear gas.
For their part, in the municipality of Ixchán, in the department of Quiché (north), prosecutors from the Public Ministry seized alleged false ballots marked in favor of the official party, Vamos, of the current president, Alejandro Giammattei.
Meanwhile, in the municipality of Malacatán, in San Marcos (west), the members of the electoral board resigned due to death threats.
Lastly, in the department of Jutiapa (east) the local media reported alleged armed men who entered a polling station.
The election this Sunday will define almost 5,000 public positions for the period 2024-2028, including president and vice president, 160 deputies to Congress, 20 to the Central American Parliament and 340 municipal corporations.
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Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
