[NYTr] Guatemala: Election Campaign Marked by Violence, Intimidation, Little Info
 
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 18:38:48 -0500 (CDT)


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Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

Insecurity and Little Information Mark Guatemala Elections

Guatemala, Aug 28 (Prensa Latina) Insecurity and little information are
the main problems detected by a Mission of Observers of the
Organization of American States that is supervising the elections in
Guatemala.

"A series of violent events have taken place, including more than 20
homicides that have directly or indirectly involved participants in the
political process," Mission Chief Diego Garcia Sayan told a news
conference on Monday.

During the presentation of the third report on the development of the
election campaign, Garcia Sayan admitted that he had also received
denunciations on intimidation and threats against candidates and
election officials in some municipalities.

Although the observers asked the Attorney General's Office and the
Government Ministry for information about the situation, none of the
institutions has replied to the mission's request.

After visiting all 332 municipalities in the country, the Mission of
Observers drew up a conflict map pinpointing the places where there are
possible hotspots of violence.

The experts said that just 14 days before the elections, the
information on how and where voters must cast their votes is
insufficient, both in rural and urban areas.

When asked by Prensa Latina whether a shortage of prosecutors might
result in problems at the polling stations in case of a technical tie
between parties, Garcia Sayan said that it would be necessarily so,
although he admitted that their presence would reaffirm
institutionalism.

Sixteen parties will participate in the general elections in Guatemala,
where the president and vice president, 158 deputies and 332 municipal
governments will be elected in September.

Although 14 candidates are running for the presidency, two are far
ahead in the race. They are Alvaro Colom, of National Unity for Hope,
and Otto Perez Molina, of the Patriotic Party, who might go to a second
round on November 4.
 
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