Guatemala’s president, Otto Pérez Molina, was forced out of office last week because of corruption allegations. The New York Times reports that the current presidential frontrunner is Jimmy Morales, a television comedian with no political background whatsoever. His slogan: “Not corrupt, not a thief.”
According to the first round of votes, Morales received nearly 24% of the vote. A businessman, Manuel Baldizón, who has been campaigning since 2011 and a businesswoman and former first lady, Sandra Torres, each received a little under 20%. Political analyst Quique Godoy is calling this “a rejection of traditional politicians.”
Julio Solórzano, a member of the electoral tribunal, said that we won’t know the results until every district makes an official count, which they expect to be done by Friday. Morales will face the candidate in second place in a run-off election in October.
Polls preceding the vote suggested that many voters would choose to abstain, but voter turnout actually reached a record high of 70.38%.