Guatemalans will vote Sunday to choose the country's next president, 158 deputies of the National Congress and 332 mayors.
Following are some key facts about the country and the elections.
The Republic of Guatemala, covers an area of 108,889 square km, lies in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Mexico to the north and west, with Honduras and Belize to the east and El Salvador to the south.
All citizens over 18 years of age -- some 5.9 million people from a population of 13.3 million -- are eligible to vote.
Under the Guatemalan constitution, the president is elected for a four-year term and cannot stand for re-election.
A presidential candidate must obtain an absolute majority to be declared an outright winner. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the votes, the two leading candidates will compete in a runoff on November 4.
The new president will take office on January 14, 2008.
A total of 14 candidates are running for the presidency this year.
The candidate of the National Unity of Hope, Alvaro Colom, leads in the latest poll with 34.7-percent support, followed by the candidate of the Patriot Party, Otto Perez, with 26.8 percent.
Guatemala's legislative body is a 158-member single chamber called the National Congress. Deputies are directly elected for a four-year term.
Source: Xinhua
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