A General Election was held in Guatemala on 9 November 2003. Voters went to the polls to elect a new President (and Vice-President), a new legislature (deputies for the unicameral Congreso de la República), municipal governments, and Guatemala's deputies to the Central American Parliament.

Presidential Election

The ruling Republican Front of Guatemala (FRG) nominated former military ruler Efraín Ríos Montt to succeed outgoing president Alfonso Portillo Cabrera. A constitutional ban on former coup leaders (Ríos Montt during 1982-83) led to strong conflict inside the country, including the beseigement of Guatemala for a day. In the first round of voting, Ríos Montt came third behind the centrist mayor of Guatemala City, Óscar Berger, and the more left-wing candidate Álvaro Colom.

Since no candidate secured an absolute majority in this first round, a run-off vote between the top two candidates was held on 28 December, which Berger won with 54% of the votes.

National Summary of Voting

Parties:

• FRG – Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (Republican Front of Guatemala)
• PP-MR-PSN – Partido Patriota, Movimiento Reformador, Partido Solidaridad Nacional (Patriotic Party, Reformist Movement, National Solidarity Party)
• UNE – Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (National Union for Hope)

FIRST ROUND: 9 NOVEMBER 2003
===================================================================
Candidate                          Party         Votes       %
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Óscar BERGER Perdomo               PP-MR-PSN     903,343     34.5
Álvaro COLOM Caballeros            UNE           694,082     26.5
Efraín RÍOS MONTT                  FRG           503,679     19.2
Others                                           520,046     19.8
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                          2,621,150
-------------------------------------------------------------------

SECOND ROUND: 28 DECEMBER 2003
===================================================================
Candidate                          Party         Votes       %
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Óscar BERGER Perdomo               PP-MR-PSN   1,235,303   54.13
Álvaro COLOM Caballeros            UNE         1,046,868   45.87
Spoilt/invalid votes                              67,106    2.83
Ballot papers left blank                          24,192    1.02 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                          2,373,469
-------------------------------------------------------------------

Legislative election

Parties:

• ANN – Alianza Nueva Nación (New Nation Alliance)
  
• FRG – Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (Republican Front of Guatemala)
  
• PAN – Partido de Avanzada Nacional (National Advancement Party)
  
• PP-MR-PSN – Partido Patriota, Movimiento Reformador, Partido Solidaridad Nacional (Patriotic Party, Reformist Movement, National Solidarity Party)
  
• PU – Partido Unionista (Unionist Party)
  
• UNE – Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (National Union for Hope)

NATIONAL SUMMARY
===================================================================
Registered voters:                5,073,282
Total votes cast:                 2,764,965   54.5
Valid votes:                      2,318,474   83.8
Invalid and blank votes:            446,491   16.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Party                               Voters       %      Seats
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ANN                                  70,397   03.0        7 
FRG                                 470,554   20.3       41 
PAN                                 250,434   10.8       17 
PP-MR-PSN                           592,964   25.6       49 
PU                                  138,713   06.0        7 
UNE                                 426,184   18.4       30 
Others                              369,228   15.9        7 
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                             2,318,474             158
------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Source: Adam Carr's Election Archive, using figures from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal website.