Elections in Guatemala

The September 9th General Elections in Guatemala ended “surprisingly well” as stated by Oscar Bolaños, President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE, Tribunal Supremo Electoral). There was agreement among press, recognized political leaders, and national and international observers.

Total voter participation increased from 56.4% in 2003 to 60% in 2007. Disturbances, irregularities, and outbreaks of violence were fewer than anticipated, the new decentralized precincts operated quite well, most voters knew where to vote, and the quick count undertaken by the local civil society observation coalition called “Mirador Electoral,” with the support of over 4,000 volunteers, was accurate.

The transmission of data was very efficient and the TSE had 76% of the votes counted only a few hours after the closing of the voting sites. The TSE successfully managed 681 new rural precincts with over 3,000 voting tables thus meeting the intent of decentralization reforms to improve participation of rural indigenous and women voters. “Mirador Electoral” reported that 42% of the electoral board representatives were women. This election is a concrete step toward improving inclusion in Guatemala. In the Presidential race, Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE) candidate, Alvaro Colom and Partido Patriota (PP) candidate, Otto Pérez will proceed to a second round election on November 4, 2007.

USAID Support
USAID support for the 2007 Elections General totaled $2 million and was provided during the year for the following initiatives:

• Technical assistance to the TSE on the voter registry, decentralization, strategic planning, elections logistics, and public information

• National Observation Effort by an NGO coalition—Mirador Electoral—including observers network, audit of voter registry, oversight of political parties, media operation, barrier participation study, and quick count

• Public awareness campaign (get out the vote) in 13 municipalities and forums to discuss decentralization issues with congressional and presidential candidates in coordination with other donors

• Development and implementation of advocacy and mass media public information campaigns on key issues (e.g., reproductive health, HIV prevention, quality education, teacher professional development)

• Implementation of a public information campaign on transparency to inform voters and enable them to effectively demand transparency from the new government

• Workshops to seek commitment from select mayor candidates to improve and increase support to key development issues

• Fora and information sharing meetings with presidential candidates

Donor Support
In line with the Paris Declaration, donor support for the General Elections was very well coordinated and totaled over $6.5 million. Donors that supported the General Elections include Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Holland, and the United States.

USAID supported following Websites:
Informate y Vota
Mirador Electoral 2007
Tribunal Supremo Electoral

Links to good/positive articles:
Unas elecciones dignas de encomio (Prensa Libre)
For Guatemalan Villagers, Ability to Vote Is a Victory (washingtonpost.com)
Transmisión de resultados sorprende (Prensa Libre)
Supremo éxito electoral (Prensa Libre)
Democracia de voluntarios (Prensa Libre)
Indians Make Gains in Guatemalan Elections


Donor coordination is a very important, unique but rare mechanism of cooperation. On March 2005, the Paris Declaration was endorsed as a new mechanism to ensure donor coordination. It is an international agreement to which over one hundred Ministers, Heads of Agencies and other Senior Officials adhered and committed their countries and organizations to continue to increase efforts in harmonization, alignment and managing aid for results with a set of monitorable actions and indicators. More than a statement of general principles, the Paris Declaration lays down a practical, action-orientated roadmap to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development. The 56 partnership commitments are organized around the five key principles: ownership, alignment, harmonization, managing for results, and mutual accountability. Indicator of process number four (4) reads as follows “strengthened capacity by co-ordinate support” defined as “percent of donor capacity-development support provided through coordinated programs consistent with partners national development strategies”.

• On April 13, 2007, the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance/USAID Administrator and the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) met with the Directors General of aid agencies from Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the meetings was to jointly explore opportunities for closer cooperation between the U.S. and the Nordic+ countries. The main outcome of the meetings was an agreement to work more closely together to implement the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and to send a joint message that would notify staff about the agreement and provide examples of "good practices" of U.S. and Nordic+ collaboration at the country level.
• The USG and USAID are fully committed with this initiative

Pictures

A private moment voting in General Elections in Quiché, Guatemala	A woman voting at a school in her village in El Quiché, Guatemala on Election Day
An elderly woman casts her vote for presidential, congressional and municipal leaders	Collection of ballots on election day in september
Focus on voting day	International observers in El Quiché, Guatemala on General Election Day
K'iche' Mayan woman with her son in Quiché, Guatemala on Election Day as she has her finger inked	Lines of people to vote in Guatemala General Election 2007.El Quiché, Guatemala
M.Marroquin, Dir.Acción Ciudadana and WNilsestuen, DirUSAID confer in the control room as General Elections returns come in	Mirador Electoral volunteers monitoring election results in Guatemala City during General Election
Quick count tabulations in 'cueva' in Guatemala City. General Elections	I am old and I voted. General Elections
Voters lined up to vote at the village school in El Quiché, Guatemala	We voted! say the ink on the fingers of happy K'iche' women on Election Day, Guatemala
We voted. General Elections	Woman watches as her papers are verified before she proceeds to vote in her village school voting place. ElQuiché
Woman and child on voting day.General Elections. ElQuiché	Voting day in El Quiché