Center-leftist leads general in Guatemala vote

[arcos]

Source: Reuters

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Center-leftist Alvaro Colom held a wide lead in Guatemala's presidential election on Sunday over a retired general who wants to use the army and emergency laws to fight a brutal crime wave.

Colom, a soft-spoken factory owner, had almost 59 percent of the vote while Gen. Otto Perez Molina had just over 41 percent, with almost a quarter of polling stations counted.

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It is the third attempt to win the presidency for Colom, who accused Perez Molina during campaigning of seeking to take Guatemala back to the dark days of the Cold War when the powerful military systematically abused human rights.

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"We have had a strong hand for 50 years and it caused more than 250,000 victims in a dirty war," Colom, 56, said.

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Read more: http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-11-05T020552Z_01_N03610855_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-GUATEMALA-ELECTION-COL.XML

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Although it is difficult to predict exactly how much to the left Colom will govern, it is the first time in Guatemala's recent history that not an extreme right winger will head the country. Colom is winning by a landslide, let's just hope the difference keeps up once all the votes are counted.

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