Elections in Guatemala: A graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem surprises and enters the ballot

Guatemala’s traditional political class suffered a severe setback on Monday With the results of Sunday’s presidential elections, the result of the sudden advance of the Semilla Social Democratic group, born of the fight against corruption in 2015.

Little by little over the past hours, the traditional Guatemalan politicians accepted their defeat after the unexpected results of Sunday’s elections, as Similla advanced to the second presidential round by their candidate, Bernardo Arevalo de Leon, a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a former diplomat to Israel.

Added to this is that according to the results of the Supreme Court for Elections (TSE), the Social Democratic Group will become the third force in Parliament with 23 deputies in Congress out of the 160 seats that make up it.

“The results published by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal clearly express a demand for change that must be fulfilled on the basis of the guarantees of the Constitution,” candidate Zuri Rios Sosa, daughter of dictator Efrain Rios Montt, said in a statement.

Opinion polls showed that Ríos Sosa and former diplomat Edmund Mollet are the two favorites for the second round, scheduled for August 20. but, It was Arevalo de León who surprisingly slid into second place, mainly for sweeping the country’s urban areas.

Polls have reached first place in the presidential race: Former first lady Sandra Torres Casanova, and she received 15.7% of the 5.4 million votes cast Sunday by Guatemalans.

Torres Casanova reached the second electoral rounds of the 2015 and 2019 elections, but lost to comedian Jimmy Morales and also to the incumbent president, Alejandro Giamatti, respectively.

And he announced at dawn on Monday, when he confirmed his victory, “We will be victorious over everyone.”

The second place went to Semilla and Bernardo Arevalo de Leon after polls placed them in eighth place, with no possibility of more than 3% of the vote. However, the incumbent MP added 11.8% of the valid votes cast on Sunday and was thus registered for the second election round.

“He has gained the illusion and confidence in a different future,” Arevalo de Leon said in a message he posted on his official channels.

The second electoral round will be held on August 20, and the new authorities will take office on January 14 for a period of four years.

With information from Efe.