Why was he elected unexpectedly?, "Anti Corruption Fighter" Arevalo Wins Guatemala General Election Arevalo | Guatemala General Election

On the 20th local time, the presidential election in Guatemala came to an end. Preliminary statistical results show that the presidential candidate of Guatemala's "Seed Movement" party, Bernardo Arevalo, has won the presidential election. Public opinion believes that Arevalo can be described as the "dark horse" in this election, and his complete victory is attributed to the stance of the "anti-corruption fighter" and the public's dissatisfaction with the old and dangerous political parties. However, whether he can smoothly take power still faces challenges.

"Black Horse" elected

On the evening of the 20th local time, the Supreme Court of Elections in Guatemala released preliminary vote counting results. In the second round of voting, Arevalo received 58.15% of the vote, significantly leading Sandra Torres, the candidate of the National Hope Union, the largest party in Guatemala with a vote share of 37.11%. This marks an unexpected victory for the 64 year old former diplomat.

"This victory belongs to the Guatemalan people. Now, Guatemalans unite, and we will work together to combat corruption," Arevalo said at a press conference after the victory

Guatemalan President Jamatay congratulated Arevalo on social media and hoped for an orderly handover of power in the future. It is reported that the new president will take office on January 14th next year.

On June 25th, Guatemala held presidential, parliamentary, and local elections. No one received more than half of the votes in the first round of the presidential election. According to the Dangerous Election Law, candidates Arevalo and Torres, who ranked in the top two in terms of vote share in the first round of voting, will enter the second round of competition, and those with more votes will be elected president. The President and Vice President of the country are directly elected for a term of 4 years and cannot be re elected.

Until a few months ago, Arevalo was not favored by the outside world and was not known to the public. However, in the first round of presidential elections in June, he unexpectedly won second place and achieved a comeback in the second round of voting.

Not only are many Guatemalans excited about Arevalo's election, but public opinion also believes that Arevalo's election may strengthen Guatemala's relationship with China.

Previously, Arevalo stated in an interview that Guatemala needs to work hard to expand its trade relations with China, and its foreign policy must be based on its own interests and become the master of its foreign policy.

It remains to be seen whether Guatemala will also become a country that establishes diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the One China principle in the future.

"Anti corruption fighter"

Why did Arevallo unexpectedly win the election? The public opinion believes that its stance as an anti-corruption fighter has boosted the election.

Reuters reported that Arevalo's victory marked the public's rejection of the influential old Guatemalan political party.

Agence France Presse pointed out that many Guatemalans feel hopeless about issues such as poverty, violence, and corruption. These problems have paralyzed Guatemala and forced thousands of Guatemalans to migrate abroad in search of a better life.

According to World Bank data, Guatemala is one of the countries in Latin America with the highest levels of poverty, malnutrition, and child mortality. The country is also one of the countries with the highest murder rates in the world, and many murder cases are caused by gang violence related to drug trafficking.

Faced with widespread public dissatisfaction, Arevalo fiercely criticized the harm brought by corrupt politicians during his campaign: "For many years, we have been victims and prey to corrupt politicians." He urged voters to vote and let the Guatemalan people lead the country instead of corrupt elements.

Arevalo's campaign proposals include increasing anti-corruption efforts, improving official selection standards, promoting public healthcare development, strengthening employment training, promoting agricultural production, and preventing and combating crime. He also promised to promote economic growth in Guatemala.

In addition, after many other opposition candidates were banned from running, Arevalo also faced the risk of being disqualified from the election, which further boosted his campaign.

In July of this year, before the intervention of a higher court, a Guatemalan court temporarily suspended all campaign activities of the "Seed Movement" party, accusing it of violating regulations. The Guardian pointed out that people generally believe that this move is politically motivated, which has instead led to Arevallo's name making headlines in the newspaper, with support from various parties in the political spectrum.

Facing challenges

Although Arevallo won the presidential election with an overwhelming advantage, public opinion believes that his ability to smoothly take power still faces challenges.

After the preliminary election results were announced, Arevallo's competitor Torres has not yet made any public statement, which has raised questions: will she object to the election results?

Agence France Presse reported that prior to the announcement of the voting results, Torres had condemned some "irregularities" in the voting without providing evidence. Before the election, she also questioned the objectivity of the country's electoral commission and claimed that Arevalo was a "foreigner" because he was born in Uruguay.

It is reported that Arevalo is the son of Juan Jose Arevalo, the first democratically elected president of Guatemala. His father played a significant role in promoting social progress in Guatemala during his tenure. However, in the military coup supported by the United States in 1954, the Arevalo family had to flee overseas. Arevalo was born in Uruguay and only returned to Guatemala for the first time at the age of 15.

In addition, Arevalo and his political party also face potential legal obstacles.

Prosecutor Rafael Kurucci ć, who attempted to prevent Arevalo from running and to suspend the "Seed Movement," said he does not rule out the possibility of issuing more arrest warrants after the election.

Eduardo Nunez, Senior Director of the National Institute for Democracy in Guatemala, predicts that in the coming days, Guatemala's polarization and the trend towards judicial elections will continue and intensify.

Nunes believes that whether Arevalo can take office smoothly faces three critical moments: firstly, the "Seed Movement" and the National Hope Alliance have expressed their position on the election results; Secondly, after the official end of the Guatemalan election process on October 31st, the "seed movement" will no longer enjoy legal protection that will not be banned; Thirdly, on January 14th next year, will the current President Jamatay smoothly transfer power. Nunes stated that there may be a series of official actions attempting to change the election results.