Ex-first lady, anti-graft candidate poised for Guatemala run-off

Source: Reuters

Ex-first lady, anti-graft candidate poised for Guatemala run-off

Sofia Menchu and Diego Oré
Mon, June 26, 2023 at 4:06 AM EDT·3 min read

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) -Former first lady Sandra Torres was headed for an August run-off in Guatemala's presidential election after a vote on Sunday looked set to pit her against Bernardo Arevalo, another center-left candidate running on an anti-corruption platform.

The election, which has been dominated by concern over graft in the Central American country, is set for a decisive second round on Aug. 20 because Torres was falling far short of the 50% plus one vote needed for outright victory.

With more than 80% returns counted from polling stations, Torres of the center-left National Unity of Hope (UNE) had 14.9% of the vote, with Arevalo of Semilla, another left-of-center group, on 12.3%, preliminary results showed.

Torres told a press conference she was feeling optimistic. "We're happy," she said. "We're going to win, against whoever it may be."

-snip-

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/ex-first-lady-anti-graft-080626757.html