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| Guatemala election: Run-off due as Jimmy Morales leads polls | Guatemala election: Run-off due as Jimmy Morales leads polls |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Comic actor Jimmy Morales is leading Guatemala's presidential election, as two other candidates battle head to head to get a place in a run-off vote. | Comic actor Jimmy Morales is leading Guatemala's presidential election, as two other candidates battle head to head to get a place in a run-off vote. |
| Jimmy Morales, who campaigned against corruption, has taken about 24% of the 97% votes so far counted. | Jimmy Morales, who campaigned against corruption, has taken about 24% of the 97% votes so far counted. |
| Centre-right businessman Manuel Baldizon and ex-first lady Sandra Torres are tied with about 19.5%. | |
| Sunday's vote came days after the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina over corruption allegations. | Sunday's vote came days after the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina over corruption allegations. |
| With no candidate taking 50% of the vote, a second round of voting has been scheduled for 25 October. | With no candidate taking 50% of the vote, a second round of voting has been scheduled for 25 October. |
| Neck and neck | |
| The race for a place in the run-off is close, with Ms Torres - the ex-wife of former president Alvaro Colom - ahead of Mr Baldizon by fewer than 1,000 votes. | |
| Electoral officials said about 70% turned out to vote on Sunday. A recount is under way for several hundred ballots before a final result will be announced, they add. | |
| As well as a new president, Guatemalans were voting for a vice-president, a new congress and local authorities. | As well as a new president, Guatemalans were voting for a vice-president, a new congress and local authorities. |
| Many had called for the polls to be postponed in the wake of the allegations. | Many had called for the polls to be postponed in the wake of the allegations. |
| "The people are tired of more of the same," Mr Morales, 46, told reporters after hearing of his lead. | |
| "Guatemala wants change and to not be governed by people with dark pasts," he said after voting near Guatemala City. | |
| Manuel Baldizon was previously a favourite to win before Mr Morales saw a late surge of support in opinion polls off the back of the unfolding corruption scandal. Several of Mr Baldizon's allies had been linked to the scandal. | |
| Ex-President Otto Perez Molina denies involvement in a scheme in which businessmen paid bribes to evade customs charges. | |
| There had been calls for Guatemalans to wear black clothes of mourning as they cast their vote, amid scepticism that the poll could achieve political change. | There had been calls for Guatemalans to wear black clothes of mourning as they cast their vote, amid scepticism that the poll could achieve political change. |
| But voters queued from the early hours to cast their ballots. Some 7.5 million people were eligible to vote in the polls. | But voters queued from the early hours to cast their ballots. Some 7.5 million people were eligible to vote in the polls. |
| A judge will decide on Tuesday whether to indict former President Molina. |