|
Guatemala electing new president | |||||
More than 50 candidates, activists and their relatives have been murdered in the run-up to the elections. The two main presidential contenders are Alvaro Colom, a centre-left businessman, and a former general, Otto Perez Molina. They have vowed to fight crime and reduce poverty. Mr Colom, who is running for the presidency for the third time in a row, has promised to overhaul the security forces and the judicial system, which many criticise for being slow, corrupt and inefficient.
Of the 14 presidential candidates, Nobel laureate Rigoberta Menchu is the best-known internationally, but she trails far behind the front-runners. Alejandro Giammattei, from President Oscar Berger's party, is also trailing in the polls. None of the candidates is expected to win the 50% support needed to win outright, and a second round run-off is expected on 4 November. Organised gangs
An official inquiry concluded that 90% of the crimes committed during the war were carried out by security forces. But very few people have been prosecuted.
Election violence has been blamed on a combination of attacks on politicians by shadowy armed groups and attempts by organised crime and drug gangs to win influence in political parties. Like some other countries in Central America and the Caribbean, Guatemala has become a major transit route for the drugs trade into the US. Other election issues are poverty and unemployment, and the situation of Guatemalans living in the US. | |||||
Kaynak:http://news.bbc.co.uk
