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Giammattei wins in Guatemala but abstention tops the poll

Monday, August 12, 2019


A conservative former prisons director was elected Guatemala’s president on Sunday, in a race that took place against the backdrop of a migration crisis in which thousands of Guatemalans leave the country each month.

Alejandro Giammattei, 63, who was making his fourth run for the presidency, won nearly three-fifths of the vote in beating Sandra Torres, the former first lady. Neither candidate inspired much confidence and just over 42 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, the New York Times reports.