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Guatemalan Vice President 'Quite Satisfied' With Outcome of Election

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The vice president of Guatemala says his government is "quite satisfied" with the outcome of the country's first round of presidential elections.

In an interview with Voice of America Thursday, Eduardo Stein said that out of more than 2,000 precincts, there were problems at only six, including at one precinct where ballots were burnt.

No candidate won an outright victory in the September 9 election. A run-off is set for November 4 between center-left politician and businessman Alvaro Colom and retired General Otto Perez Molina.

Stein said polls indicate that the run-off could be close, possibly leading to a delay in the official results, which he said might create some unrest.

Violence in the run-up to the election killed about 50 people, making it the deadliest political campaign since the end of Guatemala's 36-year civil war in 1996.

Stein also hailed the Declaration on Indigenous Rights recently passed by the U.N. General Assembly as a "very important" step forward for indigenous people. He noted that Guatemala was very involved in the negotiations of the document.

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