Alvaro Arzu Is Declared Winner of Guatemalan Presidential Race

Businessman Alvaro Arzu was elected president of Guatemala with 51.22% of the vote, a margin of 31,900 votes, the Federal Electoral Tribunal announced Monday.

In a news conference, Arzu said the closeness of the contest, with less than a 3% margin of victory and low voter turnout of 37%, did not worry him. “We won the capital. We won all the major cities,” he said. “We convinced 680,000 Guatemalans to believe in us, and through our hard work we will convince the rest.”

The conservative former Guatemala City mayor takes office Sunday. He expects to name his Cabinet by Thursday or Friday.

He pledged to finish peace negotiations to end this country’s 35-year civil war in the first months of his term. He said he will maintain the powerful Estado Mayor Presidencial, known for its intelligence operations and suspected of torture and spying, but turn it into a sort of secret service responsible for guarding the president. He has promised an economic revitalization.

“From today, we put the clock at zero,” said Arzu, 49. “We want to look to the future.”

Arzu will have to take full responsibility for the success or failure of his term, analysts said: His National Advancement Party won 42 of 80 seats in November congressional elections.

“There will be no blaming the other party,” said one observer.

But while Arzu has the support of the National Congress, he will have to win over the rural areas, where 18 of 22 districts voted for his opponent, populist Alfonso Portillo, 44.