2023 Guatemalan general election

General elections were held in Guatemala on 25 June 2023 to elect the president and vice president, all 160 seats of the Congress, all 20 members of the Central American Parliament, and mayors and councils for all 340 municipalities in the country. Current president Alejandro Giammattei was not allowed to run for a second four-year term.[1] Since no presidential candidate won over 50% of the vote, a second round is scheduled between the top two finishers on 20 August.

25 June 2023 (2023-06-25) (first round) 20 August 2023 (2023-08-20) (second round)
Opinion polls
Presidential election
Candidate Bernardo Arévalo Sandra Torres Party Semilla UNE Running mate Karin Herrera Romeo Guerra Popular vote 2,441,661 1,567,472 Percentage 60.90% 39.10%
President before election Alejandro Giammattei Vamos Elected President Bernardo Arévalo Semilla
Legislative election
All 160 seats in Congress 81 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader % Seats ± Vamos Víctor Valenzuela 18.69 39 UNE Adim Maldonado 15.85 28 Semilla Jonathan Menkos 14.61 23 Cabal (political party) Julio Héctor Estrada 7.96 18 VIVA Evelyn Morataya 5.89 11 Valor–Unionist Álvaro Arzú Escobar 4.84 12 Will, Opportunity and Solidarity Orlando Blanco 3.78 4 Todos Felipe Alejos 3.60 6 Winaq–URNG Sonia Gutiérrez 2.67 1 Nosotros (political party) Nadia de León Torres 2.50 3 BIEN Fidel Reyes Lee 2.38 4 Victoria Juan Carlos Rivera 2.17 3 Blue Party (Guatemala) Jorge Villagrán 1.95 2 Elephant Rodrigo Pellecer 1.87 2 CREO Óscar Chinchilla (lost) 1.66 3 Change Jorge Baldizón (lost) 1.02 1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
President of the Congress before Shirley Rivera Vamos

Former First Lady Sandra Torres from National Unity of Hope and Congressman Bernardo Arévalo from Semilla won the first round, both advancing to the run-off.[2] However there was a recount since Arévalo's victory caught everyone by surprise as he was not doing well in the polls.[3][4]

On 13 July, the Constitutional Court, the highest court for constitutional law approved of the results, allowing the run-off to continue for 20 August 2023.[5]

Arévalo defeated Torres in the second round with nearly 61 percent of the vote in what was seen as a landslide.[6]