UPDATE: Comedian Leads Guatemalan Presidential Election Results

Millions of Guatemalans voted in historic elections to decide on their new presidential leader after forcing their former head of state Otto Perez Molina behind bars over a huge corruption scandal.

Despite calls to postpone general elections, millions of Guatemalans flocked to voting booths Sunday to elect a new president, vice president, 158 members of Congress, 20 legislators to the Central American Parliament and 338 municipal councils.

According to the Guatemalan Electoral Supreme Court website, Jimmy Morales, from National Convergence Front (FCN) party, has been gradually widening his lead. As of 1:30 a.m. local time he was in the lead, with 24.47 percent of the total vote. Meanwhile, Liberal Renewed Democracy (LIDER) party candidate Manuel Baldizon, who at one point was favorite to win, is now losing ground as more votes are counted, but remains in second place with 19.39 percent of the vote. Sandra Torres of the UNE party has gained on the front runners, now on 19.05 percent.

Source: The Supreme Electoral Court of Guatemala

According to the Guatemalan Electoral Supreme Court, voter turnout was high with more than 50 percent of registered voters casting their vote. However, there have been over 900 complaints of election fraud submitted to the Guatemalan attorney general.

There have been over 900 complaints of election fraud submitted to the Guatemalan attorney general.

If no candidate obtains more than half of the votes in the elections or at least 40 percent of the vote and a 10 percent lead from the second place, the two top candidates will have to go to a second round. In this case a second round would be held on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Alejandro Maldonado, who took over the presidency from Molina on Sept. 3 after he resigned, will govern until Jan. 14, 2016, when the new president will be sworn in.

A survey published Thursday shows people’s top favorite presidential candidate is the political underdog and comedian Jimmy Morales with 25 percent. Right-wing LIDER lawmaker Manuel Baldizon trails him with 22.9 percent.

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Morales’ campaign has focused on the value of education and in denouncing the corruption of the country's political elite. Baldizon’s popularity has dropped dramatically in light of recent evidence showing he made contemptuous remarks regarding the demonstrations against corruption.

The election campaign has taken place amid deep political turmoil, including a wave of massive corruption scandals embroiling the government, fraud probes into high-ranking officials, and widespread calls for the resignation of President Otto Perez Molina. Government corruption, which has dominated Guatemala's political scene in recent months, is thought to have also influenced Baldizon's nine percent drop in the polls since April. Recent investigations led by the attorney general's office and the U.N. anti-impunity body CICIG have exposed several LIDER party officials for corruption offenses, including illicit enrichment, abuse of authority, and using political power for financial gain.

While a high turnout rate has been expected for Sunday’s elections, Indigenous and campesino protest movements have outright rejected them pointing at recent evidence that illegal money from drug trafficking and corruption are the main source of funding for political parties' election campaigns. They question whether a change in politicians will end a system of corruption and have demanded the postponement of elections.

Indigenous Congressman Amilcar Pop, who in June made the first attempt to strip Perez Molina of his immunity, made the point that elections will not solve the crisis, as "there are many candidates involved in questionable acts."

Guatemala's popular anti-corruption movement has also called for reforms to laws governing elections and political parties, but legislators have resisted making any move on the changes.

Elections come after sustained mass mobilizations since mid-April demanded urgently-needed election and campaign finance reforms, among others, and has called continuously for President Perez Molina to resign along with other corrupt officials. Molina finally stepped down Sep. 3, after an arrest warrant was issued against him for masterminding a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars from a customs service as part of a fraud ring. He is provisionally in jail while facing court hearings.

*Sandra Torres’ name has been corrected from the original version of this article, when it was misspelt.