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INSIDECOSTARICA.COM
| CENTRAL
AMERICA NEWS |
Monday 05
September 2011 |
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Guatemala
in
Final
Stage
of
Electoral
Campaign
Guatemala
- In
the
final
stretch
of
the
campaign,
when
there
are
only
a
few
days
remaining
for
the
elections,
presidential
candidates
focus
more
on
criticizing
rivals
that
on
proposing
concrete
solutions
to
the
problems
of
Guatemala.
The
candidate
of
the
Patriot
Party,
Otto
Perez
Molina,
is
still
complaining
about
the
work
of
the
group
in
government,
the
National
Unity
for
Hope
(UNE),
although
it
no
longer
has
any
candidate
for
president.
Perez
Molina
attacks
aim
to
try
to
reduce
the
number
of
those
who
might
vote
for
candidates
for
parliament
and
mayors
for
the
UNE
and
its
ally,
the
Grand
National
Alliance.
Perez
Molina
feels
very
confident
of
winning
the
presidential
election,
but
did
not
think
he
could
do
it
in
the
first
round,
because
polls
do
not
predict
the
half
plus
one
of
votes
necessary.
The
final
decision
on
the
elections
is
held
by
voters
in
seven
of
the
22
departments,
which
account
for
60.3
percent
of
electors.
In
the
districts
of
Guatemala,
Huehuetenango,
San
Marcos,
Alta
Verapaz,
Quetzaltenango,
Quiche
and
Escuintla
4,420,783
people
are
eligible
to
vote
from
the
7,340,841
registered.
These
voters
will
not
only
define
the
presidential
election,
but
also
the
333
municipalities,
the
158
legislative
seats,
and
20
deputies
and
alternates
delegations
of
the
Central
American
Parliament,
based
in
Guatemala.
The
process
of
election
is
breaking
records
in
several
ways,
the
first
is
in
the
register,
representing
an
increase
of
1,350,812
citizens
in
relation
to
the
election
four
years
ago.
For
the
first
time,
women
outnumber
men
in
the
inscriptions,
representing
51
per
cent.
Those
authorized
to
vote
are
less
than
half
of
an
estimated
14,713,763
people,
and
therefore,
the
majority
will
have
no
say
in
the
elections.
The
number
of
young
voters,
18
to
25
years,
this
time
increased
to
449,411
compared
to
the
2007
elections,
and
represent
33
percent
of
likely
voters.
According
to
experts,
a
novelty
this
time
is
the
use
by
the
citizens
of
two
documents
to
verify
their
identities,
neighbourhood
cards
and
the
personal
identification
documents.
There
is
little
time
for
the
crucial
moment,
but
the
contending
parties
have
already
spent
more
than
authorized
for
the
promotion
of
candidates
since
May
2,
when
the
process
started.
According
to
data
released
by
Mirador
Electoral,
the
organization
responsible
for
monitoring
this
information,
the
expenditure
has
reached
almost
$35
million
USD
in
the
proselytizing
campaigns.
Where
does
that
money
come
from,
analysts
are
wondering,
because
while
the
groups
mentioned
donations
by6
activists
and
friends
(without
revealing
names),
it
is
rumored
that
some
of
it
comes
from
illegal
activities
such
as
drug
trafficking.
In
any
case,
as
stated
by
the
leader
of
the
NGO
Citizen
Action
Alfredo
Marroquin,
quoted
by a
newspaper,
that
level
of
spending
is
surprising
in a
country
where
51
percent
of
the
population
lives
in
poverty.
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