1994 Guatemalan parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Guatemala on 14 August 1994,[1] following the premature dissolution of Congress during the 1993 constitutional crisis, and in view of implementing constitutional reforms approved in January 1994. The result was a victory for the Guatemalan Republican Front, which won 33 of the 80 seats. Voter turnout was just 21%.[2]

The 1993 constitutional crisis started on 25 May 1993, when the then President Jorge Serrano Elías attempted a self-coup or autogolpe. Serrano suspended the constitution, dissolved Congress and the Supreme Court, imposed censorship and tried to restrict civil liberties.[3] Serrano's actions were met with broad national and international opposition and ruled "illegal" by the Constitutional Court of Guatemala, following which Serrano was forced to resign.

Results

[edit]
PartyNationalDistrictTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Guatemalan Republican Front206,99432.227172,64926.612633
National Advancement Party162,18925.255172,22426.541823
Guatemalan Christian Democracy78,01612.14284,39113.011113
National Centre Union57,1558.90163,6979.8267
National Liberation Movement28,5824.45136,7465.6623
Solidarity Action Movement20,4183.18023,6043.6400
Democratic Union19,7323.07020,4463.1511
Revolutionary Party17,7472.76018,0872.7900
Democratic Social Party13,6352.12011,1171.7100
Guatemalan Reformist Party13,0072.02016,3002.5100
Nationalist Authentic Centre9,6921.5108,3881.2900
National Unity Front6,4951.0105,9010.9100
Institutional Democratic Party5,5780.8706,2010.9600
Destitute People's Movement3,1360.4900
Progressive Party5,5270.8500
Popular Democratic Front2,5830.4000
Popular Alliance 55570.0900
Christian Social Party4480.0700
Total642,376100.0016648,866100.006480
Valid votes642,37687.83648,86688.80
Invalid/blank votes89,01712.1781,85811.20
Total votes731,393100.00730,724100.00

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p323 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  2. ^ Nohlen, p324
  3. ^ Barry S. Levitt (2006), "A Desultory Defense of Democracy: OAS Resolution 1080 and the Inter-American Democratic Charter, Latin American Politics and Society, Volume 48, Issue 3, September 2006, Pages: 93–123. pp104-5

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Villagrán Kramer, Francisco. Biografía política de Guatemala: años de guerra y años de paz. FLACSO-Guatemala, 2004.
  • Political handbook of the world 1994. New York, 1995.
  • Elections in the Americas A Data Handbook Volume 1. North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Edited by Dieter Nohlen. 2005.