Adedokun Waliyu 
Social democrat candidate, Bernardo Arevalo has been voted in as president in Guatemala’s presidential election on Sunday, according to preliminary results.
Arévalo, a 64-year-old ex-diplomat and son of a former president, had a 58% to 37% lead over the former first lady Sandra Torres with 99% of votes counted.
His victory comes as violence and food insecurity affect the country, triggering fresh waves of migration. Guatemalans represent the largest number of Central Americans seeking to enter the US, The Guardian reports.
Arévalo has vowed to “purge institutions co-opted by the corrupt” and to get people committed to what he calls the fight for justice to return to Guatemala after scores of prosecutors, judges and journalists fled the country. He faces blowback from entrenched interests and a Congress that his party does not control.
“This victory belongs to the people of Guatemala and now, united as the Guatemalan people, we will fight against corruption,” Arévalo told a news conference after his win.
The incumbent president, Alejandro Giammattei, congratulated Arévalo on X (formerly Twitter), and invited him to start an “ordered transition” once results were formalised. The new president will take over on 14 January.
Outside the Las Américas hotel in the capital, where Arévalo was due to speak, supporters gathered, blaring horns, waving national flags and cheering.
Many Guatemalans said they hoped Arévalo’s win would herald a better future.
