Businessman Leading Voting In Guatemala

Conservative businessman Alvaro Arzu took a big lead in first unofficial returns from Sunday’s presidental election, but it was unclear whether he could claim victory without a runoff.

Early results indicated a turnout of less than 30 percent in Guatemala’s third civilian presidential election in 10 years, despite a truce called by rebels eager to work with a new government to end three decades of fighting.

Arzu, a popular former mayor of Guatemala City and former foreign minister, had been the clear front-runner in a field of 19 candidates.