Guatemala Presidential elections were held yesterday.
Although it seemed in June's run-off that Sandra Torres would be the front runner, in the end Alejandro Giammattei, a conservative, defeated her soundly. He got more than 58 percent of the vote, while Torres, a centrist won only 42 percent.
Sandra Torres, a former Guatemalan first lady, has Belizean family, most prominently Narda Garcia of Corozal, while her vice presidential running mate, Carlos Raul Morales is married to a Belizean.
Turnout for this election was abyssmal, with only 45% turnout, meaning that more than half of the registered voters staying home,
Giammattei will take over in January from President Jimmy Morales. He will serve a three year term - and his first challenge will be getting the Guatemalan congress to approve Morales's "safe third country" agreement with the US.
