the Constitution of Guatemala, in subsection c of article 186, prohibits relatives of the President and the Vice President on duty, to run as candidates. Even though she divorced her husband President Álvaro Colom, the move was seen as an attempt to circumvent the electoral law. With no restrictions from the Constitution she was able to run in the Presidential election of 2015 as a candidate for the same political party that her ex-husband was elected, the social-democratic National Unity of Hope party (UNE). This time she finished second in the first round of the election on 6 September, narrowly beating the third-placed Manuel Baldizón, and qualifying for the runoff against first-placed Jimmy Morales. She lost the election in the second round. She ran again in the 2019 Presidential election, and led in some polls, though she had faced a legal challenge by the Constitutional Court over potential campaign finance violations. during the last election, which she denied. Torres ran for the social-democratic National Unity of Hope party (UNE). Torres says she would provide "comprehensive solutions like development, fight against poverty and job opportunities" to try to convince Guatemalans to stay in the country rather than migrating to the United States. Torres pledged health and education reforms as well as jobs to stem the flow of migration to the US. In an appeal to more conservative voters, she vowed to oppose abortion and same-sex marriage. She did not attend either the first round or second round debates, despite having been invited to both. She was defeated in the second round of the 2019 Presidential election by Alejandro Giammattei. Arrest On 2 September 2019, she was arrested at her home on charges of violating campaign finance rules. References External links Sandra Torres Twitter Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza Political Party Guatemala GW Today |- |- 1955 births 21st-century Guatemalan women politicians 21st-century Guatemalan politicians First ladies of Guatemala Living people National Unity of Hope politicians People from Petén Department