Report on the Transgender Focused Election Observation, Accion Ciudadana and REDMMUTRANS

To help safeguard the integrity of Guatemala’s 2015 elections, NDI and local partner organization Citizen Action (Accion Ciudadana, AC) conducted a long-term observation on electoral violence and campaign finance in 20 municipalities. As part of this initiative, AC supported the Multicultural Trans Women’s Network (Red Multicultural de Mujeres Trans de Guatemala, REDMMUTRANS) in conducting the first ever transgender-focused election observation in Guatemala. The observation took place during the presidential runoff election. Six transgender women visited polling places in and around Guatemala City to observe the voting conditions and treatment of transgender voters. AC and REDMMUTRANS published a summary of the findings, which included recommendations for the TSE, Congress and other state entities on how to improve conditions for transgender political and electoral participation.