Government of Guatemala

Politics of Guatemala takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, where by the President of Guatemala is both head of state, head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Congress of the Republic. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Guatemala's 1985 Constitution provides for a separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

The president and vice president are directly elected through universal suffrage and limited to one term. A vice president can run for president after four years out of office. In the latest elections, which took place in 2011, Retired General Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriotic Party won the presidential election in a runoff against populist Manuel Baldizón of the LIDER party.

The Congress of the Republic (Congreso de la República) has 158 members, elected for a four-year term, partially in departmental constituencies and partially by nationwide proportional representation.

Political parties in Guatemala are generally numerous and unstable. No party has won the presidency more than once and in every election period the majority of the parties are small and newly formed. Even the longer-lived parties, such as the Christian Democrats (DCG) or the URNG, tend to last less than a decade as significant forces in Guatemalan politics.

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