Conservative candidate Alejandro Giammattei has won the presidential runoff election in Guatemala.
The election commission said late Sunday that with more than 90% of the polling places counted, Giammattei had won nearly 60% of the vote. His opponent, former first lady Sandra Torres garnered 40%.
Just moments after declaring victory, Giammattei said he would seek to revise a deal that current president Jimmy Morales made with U.S. President Donald Trump, requiring Hondurans and Salvadorans to seek asylum in Guatemala when crossing through the country to reach the U.S. It will be up to Guatemala’s new president, who takes office in January, to sign or nullify the agreement.
The controversial migration pact is highly unpopular in Guatemala.
Giammattei is a 63-year-old doctor. He has campaigned for the presidency three times before this year, finally winning it on his fourth run.
His opponent Torres is a business woman who has operated a textile and apparel company. She married and divorced former President Alvaro Colom who was Guatemala’s president from 2008 to 2012.
