Central America

When are the 2023 elections in Guatemala? Dates and candidates

By Latin America News · June 2, 2023 · 5 min read

By Fátima Romero

Guatemala’s more than 9.3 million voters will have to choose between nearly two dozen presidential candidates in the first-round election on June 25.

A candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote in the first round to win, but if no candidate receives an absolute majority, a runoff election will be held on August 20, 2023.

All Guatemalan presidential elections since 1995 have gone to a runoff.

In addition to the presidential vote, citizens will vote for the 160 representatives in Congress, 20 members of the Central American Parliament, and 340 municipal corporations

RT

Ask Rio Times

17 years of Latin America reporting, on demand.

Open the full Ask Rio Times →

The 2019 runoff was the only election in that set where the first-place finisher from the first round did not win the second round.

In addition to the presidential vote, citizens will vote for the 160 representatives in Congress, 20 members of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), and 340 municipal corporations.

CANDIDATES FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF GUATEMALA 2023

Recent polls by CID-Gallup, Prensa Libre, and TResearch identify four candidates leading the voting preference: ex-diplomat and congressman Edmond Mulet from Cabal.

Also, former legislator Zury Ríos, from Valor, daughter of Efraín Ríos Montt, convicted for genocide and crimes against humanity; and two-time presidential finalist and former first lady Sandra Torres, from Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza.

The fourth, Carlos Pineda, of the Prosperidad Ciudadana party, also appears as a favorite in the polls, but a decision of the electoral tribunal on May 19, 2023, took him out of the race along with approximately 200 candidates of his party competing for other roles.

These are Guatemala’s 22 presidential candidates:

Sandra Julieta Torres Casanova

Party: National Unity of Hope (UNE)

Age: 67 years old

Place of Birth: Melchor de Mencos, Petén

Education: Master’s Degree in Public Policy (URL) / Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Sciences (USAC)

Isaac Farchi Sultan

Party: AZUL

Age: 62 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: Bachelor in Computer Science (Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico)

Zury Mayté Ríos Sosa

Party: VALOR-UNIONIST Coalition

Age: 55 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: Bachelor in Political and Social Sciences (UFM)

Ricardo Sagastume Morales

Party: ALL

Age: 65 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: Lawyer and Notary (USAC)

Edmond Auguste Mulet Lesieur

Party: CABAL

Age: 72 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: Lawyer and Notary (UMG) – Career Diplomat

Manuel Eduardo Conde Orellana

Party: VAMOS for a Different Guatemala

Age: 66 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: Lawyer and Notary (URL)

Rudio Lecsán Mérida Herrera

Party: Partido Humanista de Guatemala (PHG)

Age: 61 years old

Place of Birth: Huehuetenango, Huehuetenango

Education: Lawyer and Notary Public (USAC)

José Rafael Espada

Party: Republican Party (PR)

Age: 79 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: Physician and Surgeon (USAC)

Luis Antonio Lam Padilla

Party: National Integration (PIN)

Age: 43 years old

Education: Lawyer and Notary (UFM)

Hugo Enrique Peña Medina

Party: ELEFANTE Community

Age: 61 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: Master’s Degree in Strategy and Public Image (Universidad Camilo José Cela, Madrid, Spain) and Master’s Degree in Security and Defense (UMG)

José Amílcar Rivera Estévez

Party: VICTORIA

Age: 49 years old

Place of Birth: Escuintla, Escuintla

Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Master’s Degree in Public Administration.

César Bernardo Arévalo De León

Party: Movimiento SEMILLA

Age: 65 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: B.A. in Sociology (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel)

Samuel Everardo Morales Cabrera “Sammy Morales”

Party: National Convergence Front (FCN Nación)

Age: 56 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: Bachelor’s in Media and Communications (University of Wisconsin-USA Claire, US).

Rudy Guzman

Party: WE

Giulio Antonino Talamonti Gudiel

Party: Unión Republicana (UR)

Francisco Alfredo Arredondo Mendoza

Party: Commitment, Renovation, and Order (CREO)

Age: 73 years old

Place of Birth: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Education: Physician and Surgeon (USAC and Medical College of Wisconsin, US)

Amilcar de Jesús Pop

Party: URNG-MAÍZ-WINAQ Coalition

Age: 46 years old

Place of Birth: Cobán, Alta Verapaz

Education: Lawyer and Notary Public (USAC)

Giovanni Efraín Reyes Ortíz

Party: Bienestar Nacional (BIEN)

Age: 67 years old

Education: Agricultural Engineer at the University of San Carlos de Guatemala, Ph.D. in Development Economics and International Relations (University of Pittsburg, US).

Armando Damian Castillo Alvarado