# 2003 Guatemalan general election

General elections were held in Guatemala on 9 November 2003, with a second round of the presidential election held on 28 December. Óscar Berger won the presidential election, representing the Grand National Alliance, a coalition of alliance of the Patriotic Party, the Reform Movement and the National Solidarity Party. The Alliance were also victorious in the Congressional elections, winning 47 of the 158 seats. Voter turnout was 57.9% in the Congressional elections, 58.9% in the first round of the presidential elections and 46.8% in the second.

## Presidential election

The ruling Republican Front of Guatemala (FRG) nominated former military ruler Efraín Ríos Montt to succeed outgoing president Alfonso Portillo Cabrera. A constitutional ban on former coup leaders (Ríos Montt during 1982–83) led to strong conflict inside the country, including the besiegement of Guatemala for a day: 24 July 2003, known as jueves negro ("Black Thursday"). In the first round of voting, Ríos Montt came third behind the centrist mayor of Guatemala City, Óscar Berger, and the more left-wing candidate Álvaro Colom.

## Results
### President

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | First round | First round | Second round | Second round |
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Votes | % |
| | Óscar Berger | Grand National Alliance | 921,233 | 34.33 | 1,235,303 | 54.13 |
| | Álvaro Colom | National Unity of Hope | 707,578 | 26.36 | 1,046,868 | 45.87 |
| | Efraín Ríos Montt | Guatemalan Republican Front | 518,328 | 19.31 | | |
| | Leonel Eliseo López Rodas | National Advancement Party | 224,127 | 8.35 | | |
| | Frederich García-Galont Bischof | Unionist Party | 80,943 | 3.02 | | |
| | Rodrigo Asturias | Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity | 69,297 | 2.58 | | |
| | Eduardo Suger | Authentic Integral Development | 59,774 | 2.23 | | |
| | Jacobo Árbenz Vilanova | Guatemalan Christian Democracy | 42,186 | 1.57 | | |
| | José Angel Lee Duarte | Social Participative Democracy | 37,505 | 1.40 | | |
| | Francisco Arredondo | National Union | 11,979 | 0.45 | | |
| | Manuel Conde Orellana | Social and Political Movement National Change | 10,829 | 0.40 | | |
| Total | Total | Total | 2,683,779 | 100.00 | 2,282,171 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 2,683,779 | 91.37 | 2,282,171 | 96.15 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 253,390 | 8.63 | 91,298 | 3.85 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 2,937,169 | 100.00 | 2,373,469 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 5,073,282 | 57.89 | 5,073,282 | 46.78 |
| Source: Nohlen |||||||

### Congress

| Party | Party | National | National | National | District | District | District | Total seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | Grand National Alliance | 620,121 | 24.30 | 8 | 513,529 | 19.80 | 32 | 40 |
| | Guatemalan Republican Front | 502,470 | 19.69 | 7 | 522,670 | 20.15 | 36 | 43 |
| | National Unity of Hope | 457,308 | 17.92 | 6 | 424,447 | 16.36 | 26 | 32 |
| | National Advancement Party | 278,393 | 10.91 | 4 | 297,178 | 11.46 | 12 | 16 |
| | Unionist Party | 157,893 | 6.19 | 2 | 163,637 | 6.31 | 5 | 7 |
| | New Nation Alternative | 123,853 | 4.85 | 1 | 142,679 | 5.50 | 5 | 6 |
| | Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity | 107,276 | 4.20 | 1 | 104,889 | 4.04 | 1 | 2 |
| | Guatemalan Christian Democracy | 82,324 | 3.23 | 1 | 85,918 | 3.31 | 0 | 1 |
| | Authentic Integral Development | 75,295 | 2.95 | 1 | 67,456 | 2.60 | 0 | 1 |
| | Democratic Union | 55,793 | 2.19 | 0 | 58,277 | 2.25 | 2 | 2 |
| | Social Participative Democracy | 28,425 | 1.11 | 0 | 30,026 | 1.16 | 0 | 0 |
| | Transparency | 27,740 | 1.09 | 0 | 24,359 | 0.94 | 0 | 0 |
| | Social and Political Movement National Change | 18,005 | 0.71 | 0 | 18,384 | 0.71 | 0 | 0 |
| | National Union | 17,478 | 0.68 | 0 | 14,432 | 0.56 | 0 | 0 |
| | Patriotic Party–Reform Movement | | | | 65,369 | 2.52 | 5 | 5 |
| | Reform Movement–National Solidarity Party | | | | 16,127 | 0.62 | 1 | 1 |
| | Reformist Movement | | | | 12,923 | 0.50 | 0 | 0 |
| | DIA–PLP | | | | 11,498 | 0.44 | 0 | 0 |
| | Patriotic Party–National Solidarity Party | | | | 8,997 | 0.35 | 2 | 2 |
| | Patriotic Party | | | | 5,681 | 0.22 | 0 | 0 |
| | Progressive Liberating Party | | | | 2,868 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 |
| | National Solidarity Party | | | | 1,438 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 |
| | UN–DIA–ANN | | | | 1,336 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 2,552,374 | 100.00 | 31 | 2,594,118 | 100.00 | 127 | 158 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 2,552,374 | 86.91 | | 2,594,118 | 88.34 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 384,562 | 13.09 | | 342,513 | 11.66 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 2,936,936 | 100.00 | | 2,936,631 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 5,073,282 | 57.89 | | 5,073,282 | 57.88 | | |
| Source: Election Passport, Friedenberg |||||||||