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| Guatemala awaits election results | |
| (about 10 hours later) | |
| Guatemalans have cast their ballots in presidential and parliamentary elections, after one of the bloodiest campaigns in the country's history. | |
| More than 50 candidates, activists and their relatives were murdered in the run-up to the polls. | |
| The top presidential contenders Alvaro Colom, a centre-left businessman, and a former general, Otto Perez Molina, have vowed to tackle crime and poverty. | |
| Candidates need a 50% majority to avoid a second round run-off on 4 November. | |
| But none are expected to register enough support needed for an outright win. | |
| GUATEMALA ELECTION FACTS 14 presidential candidatesVoting mandatory5.9m registered voters out of pop of 14.6mRun-off on 4 Nov if no-one wins more than 50% class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/6982050.stm">Bullets overshadow ballot | |
| Mr Colom, who is running for the presidency for the third time in a row, promised to overhaul the security forces and the judicial system, which many criticise for being slow, corrupt and inefficient. | |
| Mr Perez Molina pledged to increase the size of the police force by 50% and revive the death penalty. | |
| Of the 14 presidential candidates, Nobel laureate Rigoberta Menchu is the best-known internationally, but she was trailing far behind the front-runners. | |
| Alejandro Giammattei, from President Oscar Berger's party, also trailed in pre-election polls. | |
| Organised gangs | Organised gangs |
| Guatemala is still suffering the after-effects of the 1960-1996 civil war between leftist rebels and successive military governments, which left nearly a quarter of a million people dead or missing. | |
| An official inquiry concluded that 90% of the crimes committed during the war were carried out by security forces. But very few people have been prosecuted. | An official inquiry concluded that 90% of the crimes committed during the war were carried out by security forces. But very few people have been prosecuted. |
| According to experts, the violent paramilitary forces that fought during the war were never disarmed - they were just recycled and put to use by organised criminals. | According to experts, the violent paramilitary forces that fought during the war were never disarmed - they were just recycled and put to use by organised criminals. |
| Election violence has been blamed on a combination of attacks on politicians by shadowy armed groups and attempts by organised crime and drug gangs to win influence in political parties. | Election violence has been blamed on a combination of attacks on politicians by shadowy armed groups and attempts by organised crime and drug gangs to win influence in political parties. |
| Like some other countries in Central America and the Caribbean, Guatemala has become a major transit route for the drugs trade into the US. | Like some other countries in Central America and the Caribbean, Guatemala has become a major transit route for the drugs trade into the US. |
| Other election issues are poverty and unemployment, and the situation of Guatemalans living in the US. | Other election issues are poverty and unemployment, and the situation of Guatemalans living in the US. |