At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Guatemala

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo
• Head of Government: President Oscar Jose Rafael BERGER Perdomo
• 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 popular vote to serve a 4-year term.
• In the Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la Republica) 158 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

*** Of the 158 members, 127 are departmental-level representatives selected through departmental lists; 31 are national-level representatives selected through national party lists. All members are elected to four-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Alvaro COLOM
  • Party: National Unity for Hope (UNE) / Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza
• General Otto PEREZ Molina
  • Party: Patriotic Party (PP) / Partido Patriota
• Alejandro GIAMMATEI
  • Party: Grand National Alliance (GANA) / Gran Alianza Nacional
• Luis RABBE
  • Party: Guatemalan Republic Front (FRG) / Frente Republicano Guatemalteco
• Oscar CASTANEDA
  • Party: National Advancement Party (PAN) / Patrido Avanzada Nacional
• Mario ESTRADA
  • Party: Union del Cambio Nacionalista (UCN)
• Vinicio CEREZO
  • Party: Democracia Cristiana Guatemalteca (DCG)
• Fritz GARCIA Gallon
  • Party: Union Party (PU) / Partido Unionista
• Eduardo SUGER
  • Party: Center for Social Action (CASA) / Centro de Accion Social
• Rigoberta MENCHU Cum
  • Party: Encuentro por Guatemala
• Manuel CONDE
  • Party: Democratic Union (UD) / Union Democratica
• Miguel SANDOVAL
  • Party: Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG-MAIZ)
• Pablo MONSANTO
  • Party: New Nation Alliance (ANN) / Alianza Nueva Nacion
• Hector ROSALES
  • Party: Desarrollo Integral Autentico (DIA)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 13,797,629 (2007)
• Registered Voters: 5,990,029 (July 2007 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 7,062,183 (2007)

·         Is Guatemala a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (8 June 1981)

·         Has Guatemala ratified CEDAW: Yes (12 August 1982)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 19 (following the 2007 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 128 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Guatemala a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Guatemala ratified CRPD: Yes (7 April 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 2,069,644 (est.)