Guatemala's next president will be determined in a runoff election, after none of the three leading candidates logged the required majority of votes in Sunday's election, Voice of America reported.

The Central American nation headed to the polls just days after embattled President Otto Pérez Molina resigned in a widespread corruption scandal. The former president has since been jailed. President Pérez Molina said in court on Friday that he accepted no bribes, though he claimed to have been offered millions of dollars from fugitive drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in 1993.

The three candidates vying to succeed Pérez Molina are comic actor Jimmy Morales, conservative businessman Manuel Baldizón, and former first lady Sandra Torres, Reuters noted. Morales dominated Sunday's race, garnering 24.43 percent support with returns in from 94.9 percent of polling stations and securing a spot in the expected runoff.

Baldizón -- a congressman for the center-right opposition Renewed Democratic Liberty Party -- came in at 19.41 percent and was in a fight with Torres -- the leftist ex-wife of former President Álvaro Colom -- who received 19.09 percent support, for a place in the second round to be held Oct. 25.

Former Vice President Alejandro Maldonado, who has a congressional mandate to lead Guatemala until Pérez Molina's successor takes office in 2016, meanwhile, spoke with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday, the White House said in a statement.

Biden called Maldonado "to congratulate the government for holding elections (and) signaled continued U.S. commitment to supporting institutions, combating corruption, and promoting transparency in Guatemala," the vice president's office noted.

The U.S. had supported Pérez Molina's resignation over the corruption scandal, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in Washington, according to Voice of America.

"We commend the people of Guatemala and their institutions for the manner in which they have dealt with this crisis, and continue to underscore our support for Guatemala's democratic and constitutional institutions," Earnest underlined.