:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/VKNUIDATSJAHVKMYV23GFEIDEE.jpg)
The polling centers Guatemala opened their doors this Sunday for election day, where the Central American country will decide its next president for the period 2024-2028.
At 7:00 a.m. local time (1:00 p.m. GMT), as scheduled, entry to the almost 3,500 voting centers where 9.3 million Guatemalans are registered to vote was enabled.
LOOK HERE: Sandra Torres, the woman who is trying to become president of Guatemala for the third time
The candidates running for the presidency are the winner of the first round held on June 25, Sandra Torres Casanovaof the National Unity of Hope (UNE) and secondly, the progressive academic Bernardo Arevalo de Leonof the Seed Movement.
The authorities of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) opened the day with a ceremony held in the Parque eric barrondolocated a few kilometers from the center of the Guatemalan capital.
For his part, he Ministry of the Interior (Interior) has mobilized 42,000 police officers to guarantee security during election day.
In total there are 3,482 voting centers installed throughout Guatemalamostly in public schools, with 24,427 tables for the reception of suffrage in the 22 departments (provinces) of the nation that he presides over Alejandro Giammattei.
High voltage choice
More than 8,000 national and international observers, including the European Union and the Organization of American Statesthey will verify the electoral process, which according to experts is the most controversial that has taken place in the country since the establishment of democracy in 1986.
International concern is due to the fact that the Public ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) has tried, since July 12, to challenge the Seed match and prevent the academic Arévalo de León from competing for the Presidency.
The leftist candidate unexpectedly managed to come second in the elections on June 25 and contest a second round of elections today, when the polls placed him in eighth place, due in large part to the support of the urban vote that he received in the first round. .
MORE INFORMATION: Who is Bernardo Arévalo, the academic who wants to emulate his father’s presidency in Guatemala | PROFILE
For her part, Torres Casanova, with a strong electoral base in rural areas, seeks to become the first woman to govern the country, after losing the ballots of 2015 and 2019.
According to the polls released four days before the election, Arévalo De León accumulates 61% of the intention to vote, above the 37% of Torres Casanova.
The voting centers will remain open until 6:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT on Monday morning) and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal expects the results to be computed within a period of two to four hours.
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.
