Former TV comedian expected to become Guatemala's next president

A former TV comedian with no experience in government was poised to win Guatemala’s presidential election on Sunday, after a corruption scandal toppled the country’s last leader and fueled voter outrage with the political establishment.

Playing up his outsider status and promising clean government, 46-year-old Jimmy Morales surged in opinion polls after an investigation into a multi-million dollar customs racket led to the resignation and arrest of President Otto Perez.

Voter surveys showed Morales was set to easily win Sunday’s run-off vote against former first lady Sandra Torres, who also vowed to tackle corruption but was seen by many voters as part of the old political order.

As polling stations opened, many voters said they saw in the comedian an opportunity for a fresh start, and an end to the tainted political dealings that sparked nationwide protests and the eventual ouster of Perez last month.

“We’re tired of Guatemala’s old-style politics … the wholesale robbery of Guatemala,” said 47-year-old small business owner Alejandro Cruz, after casting his vote in Guatemala City. “I voted for Jimmy Morales. I do think he will be victorious, and that today will be a historic day.“

Connecting with voters with tales of his humble origins and jokes from a 14-year stint on a sketch comedy show, Morales has faced criticism over fanciful policy ideas, like tagging teachers with a GPS device to make sure they show up in class.

His manifesto runs to just six pages, giving few clues as to how he might govern, and his National Convergence Front (FCN) will have just 11 of 158 seats in the next Congress.

“He has no program and no team,” said Hugo Novales, a political analyst at Guatemalan think tank ASIES. “But discontent is so high that those issues aren’t a priority for your average voter.”

Just a few months ago, Morales was a rank outsider, but as probes by a United Nations-backed body targeting public sector corruption engulfed the government and the campaign of the election’s frontrunner, the clean-cut comic surged into contention.

One investigation found that Perez and his vice-president were at the heart of the customs scam known as La Linea. After being impeached, stripped of his presidential immunity and arrested last month, Perez is now behind bars awaiting trial.

He denies the allegations against him, but the scandal has sorely tested already shaky public trust in politicians. Morales, voters hope, will offer a complete break.

“We’ve got to give him an opportunity,” said carpenter Gilberto Maldonado, 40. “Many say the gentleman is inexperienced, but let him show them the experience he has.“

His center-left opponent Torres, 60, has vowed to extend welfare programs that were once a hallmark of the presidency of Alvaro Colom, when she was first lady.

Critics say Torres, whose National Unity of Hope (UNE) party has traditionally fared well in poor rural areas, used her role as the head of a powerful welfare committee under Colom to make state handouts dependent on political loyalty.

Morales also has his detractors. The former funnyman has had to reassure voters his party is not too close to the military, which played an often brutal role in Guatemala’s 1960-1996 civil war.

Some founders of his FCN, were, like Perez, members of the army, though Morales says the party’s core is now civilian.

Others worry about the policy agenda of the onetime theology student, who has promised to hand out smartphones to kids and revive a territorial dispute with neighboring Belize.

The comedian beat Torres in a first round of voting on 6 September, in a field of 14 candidates, but fell short of the 50% of votes needed to avoid a runoff.