General Information
At stake in this election:
- The office of President of Guatemala
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: President Otto PÉREZ Molina
- Head of Government: President Otto PÉREZ Molina
- Assembly: Guatemala has a unicameral Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica) with 158 seats.
Description of electoral system:
- The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 4-year term.
- In the Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica) 158 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms*
*Of the 158 members, 127 are departmental-level representatives selected through 22 departmental lists; 31 are national-level representatives selected in one, nationwide district. Votes are tabulated using the D'Hondt method.
Main Candidates in the Presidential race:
- Candidate: James (Jimmy) Ernesto MORALES
- Party: National Convergence Front / El Frente de Convergencia Nacional (FCN)
- Candidate: Sandra Julieta TORRES Casanova
- Party: National Unity of Hope / Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE)
Last Election:
- The first round of the Presidential election was held on 6 September 2015, in which 5,390,005 people cast votes, making turnout 65%. James (Jimmy) Morales won 23.9% of the votes and Sandra Torres won 19.8% of the votes.[1]
Population and number of registered voters:
Gender Data:
- Female Population: 7,423,314 (2014 est.)[4]
- Is Guatemala a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (8 June 1981)
- Has Guatemala ratified CEDAW: Yes (12 August 1982)[5]
- Gender Quota: No[6]
- Female Candidates in this election: Yes
- Number of Female Legislators: 21 (13%) of 158 seats in the Congress of the Republic[7]
- Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 125[8]
- Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium[9]
Disability Data:
- Is Guatemala a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
- Has Guatemala ratified CRPD: Yes (7 April 2009)[10]
- Population with a disability: 2,156,021[11]