1978 Guatemalan general election

General elections were held in Guatemala on 5 March 1978.[1] No candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the presidential election, resulting in Fernando Romeo Lucas García being elected president by Congress on 13 March. The Congressional elections were won by the National Liberation Movement.

1978 Guatemalan general election

5 March 1978

Nominee Romeo Lucas Enrique Peralta Party PID MLN Home state Alta Verapaz Guatemala City Running mate Francisco Villagrán Héctor Aragón Electoral vote 34 0 Popular vote 262,960 221,223 Percentage 40.33% 33.93%

President before election Kjell Laugerud García MLN President-elect Fernando Romeo Lucas PID-PR-CAO

Results

President

Candidate	Party	Public vote		Congress vote
		Votes	%	Votes	%
Fernando Romeo Lucas García	PID-PR-CAO	262,960	40.33	34	100
Enrique Peralta Azurdia	National Liberation Movement	221,223	33.93	0	0
Ricardo Peralta Méndez	DCG-PRA	167,890	25.75	-	-
Invalid/blank votes			-		-
Total		652,073	100	61	100
Source: Nohlen

Congress

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/-
National Liberation Movement			20	+4
Institutional Democratic Party			17	+3
Revolutionary Party			14	+4
Guatemalan Christian Democracy			7	-
Central Aranista Organization			3	-3
Invalid/blank votes		-	-	-
Total			61	+1

References

1. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p323 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6

Bibliography

• Villagrán Kramer, Francisco. Biografía política de Guatemala: años de guerra y años de paz. FLACSO-Guatemala, 2004.
• Political handbook of the world 1978. New York, 1979.