Sunday, September 09, 2007
Guatemala holds a general election
(Esta entrada está disponible también en español.)
Guatemala holds a general election today to choose a new president and members of the unicameral Congress, as well as municipal governments.
The President of the Republic, directly elected by universal suffrage for a single term of four years, is chosen by an absolute majority of votes and cannot be re-elected. If no candidate attains an absolute majority in the first round of voting, a second round is held between the two candidates with the largest number of votes, and the candidate that obtains a majority of valid votes is deemed elected.
The Congress of the Republic is composed of 158 deputies directly elected for a four-year term of office by the largest average method of proportional representation (the D'Hondt rule) in multi-member districts - the departments of Guatemala, plus Guatemala City - and a nationwide list. A total of 31 deputies are elected in the national list, while the remaining 127 seats are allocated among the districts in proportion to their population; however, each district has at least one deputy.
Political parties submit candidates or lists of candidates. The lists are closed, so electors may not choose individual candidates in or alter the order of such lists. Electors cast a ballot for a single list, or for a single candidate in single-member districts.
A total of sixteen parties are taking part in the elections. The Guatemalan Supreme Court of Elections official Voto 2007 (Vote 2007; in Spanish) website will have preliminary results of today's election, and the Elecciones Guatemala (Elections Guatemala; also in Spanish) blog is also following the process.
Guatemala holds a general election today to choose a new president and members of the unicameral Congress, as well as municipal governments.The President of the Republic, directly elected by universal suffrage for a single term of four years, is chosen by an absolute majority of votes and cannot be re-elected. If no candidate attains an absolute majority in the first round of voting, a second round is held between the two candidates with the largest number of votes, and the candidate that obtains a majority of valid votes is deemed elected.
The Congress of the Republic is composed of 158 deputies directly elected for a four-year term of office by the largest average method of proportional representation (the D'Hondt rule) in multi-member districts - the departments of Guatemala, plus Guatemala City - and a nationwide list. A total of 31 deputies are elected in the national list, while the remaining 127 seats are allocated among the districts in proportion to their population; however, each district has at least one deputy.
Political parties submit candidates or lists of candidates. The lists are closed, so electors may not choose individual candidates in or alter the order of such lists. Electors cast a ballot for a single list, or for a single candidate in single-member districts.
A total of sixteen parties are taking part in the elections. The Guatemalan Supreme Court of Elections official Voto 2007 (Vote 2007; in Spanish) website will have preliminary results of today's election, and the Elecciones Guatemala (Elections Guatemala; also in Spanish) blog is also following the process.
