Ex-Dictator Registers as a Candidate

GUATEMALA CITY — Blocked from seeking Guatemala's presidency since 1990, former military strongman Efrain Rios Montt finally was able to register as a candidate Thursday.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal accepted the retired general's registration, obeying a decision by the nation's top court that he could seek office despite a clause in the country's 1985 constitution that bars former coup leaders from seeking the presidency.

"This is not a victory for the [party] or for the general but for the country," Rios Montt, 77, told reporters after receiving his credential as a candidate.

Rios Montt presided over a 1982 coup that overthrew the military government of Gen. Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia. His own government was overthrown nearly 18 months later.