Guatemalan Voters OK Anti-Corruption Amendments
Guatemalans voted out the Congress and Supreme Court in an anti-corruption referendum that drew fewer than one in five voters to the polls.
Opponents of the referendum called by President Ramiro de Leon Carpio said the low turnout showed the public did not support the proposed constitutional amendments.
De Leon called the turnout “unfortunate” but said the vote was nonetheless a defeat for the “enemies of democracy.”
De Leon, a former human rights lawyer, was named president by Congress last June after an attempt by former President Jorge Serrano to grab total power failed.
Critics say the new president is sincere in wanting to purge corrupt officials but that the referendum is really a farce in that many members of Congress might simply be reelected.
Less than 16% of the country’s 3.44 million eligible voters cast ballots in the referendum Sunday, according to an electoral official.
Of those who voted, 370,044, or 83%, approved the 43 constitutional changes and the dismissal of Congress and the Supreme Court, the official said.
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