Guatemalan poll to decide fate of former coup leader

Guatemalans waited in long lines yesterday to vote in the second presidential election since peace accords were signed seven years ago, ending 36 years of civil war.

The poll will decide the future of former dictator Rios Montt, who has been accused of human rights abuses and criticised by the US government.

There were reports of problems, including two women being trampled to death as a crowd fought to enter a polling station in the northern city of Chajul. And late Saturday, a top aid of centre-left presidential candidate Alvaro Colom was shot in the leg and hand as he entered his home, fuelling fears of attacks against candidates.

Pre-election polls showed Colom, 52, and former Guatemala City Mayor Oscar Berger, 57, in a statistical tie before yesterday's race, with each candidate capturing about a third of the electorate's support. Retired General Efrain Rios Montt, who led a successful coup in 1982, was trailing a distant third.

In order to win the presidency, one candidate must gain more than 50 per cent of the vote, or the top two vote-getters will advance to a second round at the end of December.

State officials warned that relations with the Central American nation would suffer if Rios Montt was elected. The dictator's previous government was supported by former US President Ronald Reagan. Casting his vote in Guatemala City, the 77-year-old was greeted by shouts of "Get out!"

A presidential win would extend Rios Montt's immunity from prosecution, which will expire when his term as senator and president of Congress ends in January.

Human rights groups in Guatemala and Spain have accused Rios Montt's former government of carrying out massacres, including the 1981 arson of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City in which 37 people died.

Some fear the former dictator and his supporters will dispute a loss, with accusations of fraud and possible violence.

Ex-paramilitary fighters, some of whom were recruited by Rios Montt's past government, staged angry protests to demand payment for their service during Guatemala's civil war.