( CNN ) -- Retired army Gen. Otto Perez Molina won Sunday 's runoff presidential election in Guatemala , seizing on voters ' concerns about growing insecurity in the Central American nation . Perez Molina led with more than 53 % of the vote , Guatemala 's election authority said . His opponent , businessman Manuel Baldizon , garnered 46 % of the vote . `` I want to tell you that we are happy , that we are very excited by this decision , but at the same time we have a big responsibility not to fail the Guatemalans in the next four years , '' Perez Molina told a crowd of cheering supporters . Perez Molina said unity across party lines would be a key step in solving the country 's security problems . `` Let 's put these elections behind us ... and come together in the the things we have in common , to pull Guatemala out of this crisis that we are living , '' he said . In Guatemala City Monday , Perez Molina 's supporters celebrated the news . `` I am very happy because we are going to have a change in our country , '' Jazmin Dominguez said . Perez Molina , a retired army general who pledged to take a tough stand on crime , was the front-runner heading into the election . He won the most votes in the first round of voting in September . Low voter turnout was reported in Sunday 's election , according to the state-run AGN news agency . Concerns about violence in Guatemala , which has worsened as Mexican drug cartels have stepped up operations in parts of the country , dominated the vote . In a Vox Latina national survey in July , more than two-thirds of Guatemalans said violence was what concerned them most , far outpacing the combined totals for the economy , unemployment , poverty and lack of education . `` Let 's hope that it 's not like it 's been with the government in the past , that they are n't just lies . The truth is that it 's important that we return our country to the right path . We need security , education , health . We really hope the new president does all this , '' Guatemala City resident Juan Diego said Monday . Campaign posters for Perez Molina , who led in polls before Sunday 's election , featured a clenched fist . The 60-year-old retired general pledged to bring a `` mano dura '' -- firm hand -- to Guatemala 's highest office . In a debate co-hosted by CNN en EspaÃ±ol this year , Perez Molina called for `` elite units of the army '' to play a larger role in the nation 's battle against gangs and drug cartels . But that proposed approach -- and Perez Molina 's high rank in the military during Guatemala 's decades-long civil war -- worries human rights groups both in Guatemala and abroad . Concerns stem from the fact that the Guatemalan military committed multiple atrocities during the civil war , though Perez Molina has never been directly implicated in any of them . The former general campaigned for president a second time this year . He was defeated in 2007 by incumbent President Alvaro Colom . First-time candidate Baldizon , 41 , who ran under the banner of the Leader Party , energized young voters . He promised to continue social and economic programs that he warned would be at risk , if Perez Molina won . Like the former general , Baldizon championed a crime-fighting plan . Poverty is endemic in Guatemala , and the country has one of the worst crime rates in Latin America . Forty-three percent of children under 5 are chronically malnourished . And the murder rate last year was 42 per 100,000 people -- one of the highest in the world . While supporters praised his tough stance on crime , others said they feared the president-elect 's platform did not adequately address poverty . `` I think that he is going to make a government of the rich . I do not think that they are thinking about the poor and they are going to leave us forgotten again , '' Guatemala City resident Nelson Guzman said . This is only the fourth time that Guatemala has held presidential elections since peace accords were signed in 1996 , officially ending a civil war that devastated the country for 36 years . The conflict left more than 100,000 people dead and a million refugees . Perez Molina will take office in January .
President - elect : ` ` We have a big responsibility not to change the constitution '' Guatemala City resident : ` ` I am very happy because we are going to have a change '' . ' Rafael Molina garners more than 53 % of the vote . Several issues loomed large during the campaign .