Sandra Torres said she would divorce her husband for the love of her countryA family court in Guatemala has approved the divorce of President Alvaro Colom and his wife Sandra Torres.
The decision clears the way for her to stand for election to be his successor.
The couple filed for divorce last month to overcome a constitutional ban on close relatives of the president running for the top office.
The court rejected numerous legal challenges to the divorce, which has provoked great controversy.
The opposition has accused the president and now ex-first lady of fraud.
The main opposition candidate for September's presidential election, former General Otto Perez Molina, told the BBC he believed Ms Torres' candidacy would still violate the constitution.
But a spokesman for Sandra Torres' party told the BBC that they consider the procedure to be fully legal.
'Great love'Sandra Torres confirmed her intention to separate from her husband of eight years last month in a tearful address to the nation.
She said she and Mr Colom were putting their love for Guatemala ahead of their "great and solid" love for each other.
The decision means the couple will have to live apart.
Sandra Torres is Mr Colom's third wife and is already a divorcee.
She has played a prominent role in Alvaro Colom's presidency, supervising the government's poverty relief programmes.
If elected, she will be Guatemala's first female president.
But she is facing a tough challenge from Otto Perez Molina, whose promise of a tough line against rising crime has given him a comfortable lead in the polls.
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