The main contenders for the Presidency of Guatemala began the electoral campaign on Monday, March 27 heading towards the June 25 elections with banners, mass rallies and promises.
The second phase of his electoral process officially started this Monday, after closing the candidate registration phase last Saturday, of according to data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
There are 23 presidential couples those that are legally registered and 19 of them have already been accredited, according to the same source.
Around 25,000 politicians were registered to compete in the elections and some three thousand files were rejected for different reasons.
Among the candidates who began the electoral campaign with massive events is the former first lady Sandra Torres (2008-2012) and presidential candidate of the National Unity of Hope (UNE), who had an activity in the La Terminal market in Guatemala City, where the delivery of t-shirts, bicycles and televisions to the hundreds of attendees had been scheduled.
The presidential candidate focused her promises on social development and the informal economy. These were some of their offers:
- Return the solidarity bag
- Give families an annual payment of Q2 thousand for the purchase of supplies
- Eliminate VAT on basic basket products and medicines
- Archive bill 6165, which seeks to impose taxes on informal commerce
“Four years ago I was not wrong. The people were wrong because if he had supported me, a different situation would be for Guatemalan men and women,” Torres said in his speech.
Dan marches back the raffle
On one side of the stage set up for Torres, a group of merchants from La Terminal placed dozens of prizes for a raffle that would take place with the tenants after the UNE rally. Some of the gifts were motorcycles, household appliances, wardrobes, and televisions.
However, the activity was not carried out due to the presence of Free Press y Guatevisión Newscast in the place. “We do not want misunderstandings,” said one of the vendors who ordered the prizes to be removed from the place.
The electoral law prohibits political groups from giving gifts to supporters as a method of adding votes. Sanctions range from public reprimands to the cancellation of political organizations that engage in this practice.
consulted by Free Press y Guatevisión Newscast, Torres denied that his party organized the raffle and affirmed that it was coordinated by the merchants of La Terminal to support the families of those who work in the market.
The same assertion was made by Renato Rojas, Vice President of the Board of Directors of La Terminal.
Boletos of the UNE
Free Press and Guatevisión Newscast They documented that the tickets to participate in the raffle had the UNE logo. A taxi driver who works at La Terminal and that he preferred to omit his name, he affirmed that the majority of the people attended the rally to win some of the raffle gifts.
Torres will compete for the third time for the presidency and in the previous two (2015 and 2019) was defeated in the second round.
The elections will take place on June 25 and in them the population will decide their president for the period 2024-2028, in addition to 160 deputies, 20 legislators from the Central American Parliament and 340 municipal mayors.
With information from EFE