Retired Gen. Efrain Rios Montt, who took power after a 1982 military coup but was overthrown a year later, has signed up as a presidential candidate in a November election. His action Thursday conflicts with Supreme Court and congressional rulings that he is ineligible to run because of the military coup. Rios Montt, a born-again Christian who as military ruler sent more than a dozen convicted leftists before the firing squads, is campaigning as a law-and-order candidate. Human rights workers and others are worried that Rios Montt's eye-for-an-eye brand of justice will lead to further human rights abuses in a country already plagued with them. Polls show him among the leading contenders to replace President Vinicio Cerezo. Rios Montt took power after the coup ousted Gen. Romeo Lucas Garcia on March 23, 1982. Rios Montt, in turn, was removed by Gen. Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores on Aug. 8, 1983. The Supreme Court, in a non-binding opinion sought by Congress last year, said Rios Montt cannot be president or vice president because of a constitutional ban on the holding of those posts by people who assumed power in a coup. Last month, the Association of National Dignitaries, made up of people who drew up the current constitution, arrived at the same conclusion. Rios Montt is running with the backing of three of Guatemala's 19 registered parties. Nine candidates have signed up for the presidency, including Jorge Carpio Nicolle, a journalist defeated five years ago by Cerezo. There will be a runoff on Jan. 6 if no candidate wins a majority in the Nov. 11 election. If Guatemala's elections registry refuses to accept his candidacy, Rios Montt can appeal through the court system.
