Guatemala's Supreme Electoral Tribunal on Monday formally recognized Social Democrat Alvaro Colom victory in the second round of the nation's presidential election, with all the votes counted, saying he had won 52.82 percent of the presidential run-off vote.
Colom said in his first speech as president-elect that he wishes Guatemala to be a model social democratic nation with a Mayan face: strengthening unity, national identity and relations with neighbors. He said that his short-term goals were organized crime and impunity.
Colom, who won on his third attempt, will take over presidency from conservative incumbent Oscar Berger Jan. 14, 2008 and rule until 2012.
Colom was born in Guatemala City on June 15, 1951. After gaining a degree as an industrial engineer at the University of San Carlos in just three years, Colom became a textile entrepreneur and a leader of export associations from 1977-1990.
In 1991, he was named Vice Minister of Economy and later became Director of the National Peace Fund (Fonapaz), which administrated international aid to end the internal violence in Guatemala.
Under the leadership of Colom, Fonapaz has helped repatriate and resettle at least 40,000 Guatemalan refugees who had fled to Mexico to escape Guatemala's political violence.
Colom is married to entrepreneur Sandra Torres. They have three children.
This was Colom's third consecutive attempt to win the Central American country's presidency. In the 1999 elections, Colom obtained third place as the candidate for the Guatemalan Revolutionary Unity party (UNG). In 2003, representing the UNE, he came second in the elections, losing to Oscar Berger.
In the first round of elections on September 9 this year, Colom won 25.62 percent, while his rival Otto Perez Molina of the right wing Patriotic Party ended with 21.35 percent of the vote.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article