Guatemala: 30 Dead in Election-Related Violence

Guatemala - Election-related violence in Guatemala has left at least 30 dead this year to date, and various political parties have reported deaths threats received by their candidates.

The latest recipient of these threats was the Guatemalan Republican Front (GRF), a controversial group whose general secretary, Luis Fernando Perez, said six of his candidates and their families had been threatened.

Overnight, the GRF was left without its presidential and vice presidential candidates for the September 11 general elections.

Zury Rios suddenly announced her withdrawl from the presidential race, and admitted a lack of support from the party, founded by her father, the former dictator Efrain Rios Montt.

In the department of San Jose Pinula, two mayoral candidates were shot to death, one of them along with two supporters.

The Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights said affirmed that from January 1 to June 30, there were 30 murders, 20 injured and 31 threatened related to the elections, including candidates and officials.