Review of Guatemala’s vote appears to largely uphold results from June 25 presidential election

Guatemala City: A court-ordered review of Guatemala’s June 25 presidential election that included a second look at dozens of precinct tally sheets appears to have upheld the original vote totals, an electoral official said Friday.

If candidates Sandra Torres and upstart Bernardo Arévalo remain the two highest vote-getters in the re-examination, it will boost the likelihood that their onetwo finish in the first round will stand and that the two candidates will head to a run-off election Aug. 20.

Asked about the vote tally review during a news conference Friday, Magistrate Gabriel Aguilera of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal praised the precinct panels of regular citizens responsible for tallying votes and told them not to be discouraged by critics of their work.

“In an exercise of civic responsibility, they watched over the vote of each Guatemalan and with the results of the second hearings ... they confirm the June 25 results,” Aguilera said.

“This has to be emphasized and support given to the citizens who have guarded Guatemalans’ vote.”

The tribunal said later in a statement that the review “confirms the preliminary results published on June 25,” and urged political parties “to accept with maturity the election results, which represent the legitimate will of the people.”

Edie Cux, director of Accion Ciudadana, the local chapter of nongovernmental organization Transparency International, said Friday that the electoral tribunal must now endorse the work done by those reviewing the challenged tallies, and certify the election results. (AP)