Runoff vote for Guatemalan presidency sees comedian Jimmy Morales take on former first lady Torres | Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

Guatemala City (dpa) – Comedian Jimmy Morales has one major asset ahead of Sunday’s presidential election run-off in Guatemala: he is not a politician. The appeal of an outsider can hardly be underestimated in a country plagued by corruption and inefficiency, where the last elected president and his vice president are currently jailed. Morales, 46, is…

Guatemala City (dpa) – Former first lady Sandra Torres wants to make her own contribution to shape troubled Guatemala, and she will have a chance in Sunday’s presidential election run-off. The social democrat Torres, 60, has long wanted the job – enough to divorce then-husband and Guatemalan president Alvaro Colom (2008-12) so she could run to…