Guatemala: the party of the elected president asks for the cancellation of his suspension

August 30, 2023

The party of Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo asked the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on Tuesday to overturn its decision the day before to suspend him provisionally, a decision criticized in particular by the European Union and the United States.

The Semilla party’s lawyer, Juan Gerardo Guerrero, told the press that he had filed “a request for annulment” with the TSE.

The suspension of the party at the request of a judge was described as “absolutely illegal” and a “political persecution” by Mr. Arévalo who had campaigned against corruption, an evil that has plagued the country for years.

After the first round of the presidential election on June 25, Judge Fredy Orellana had already ordered the TSE, at the request of prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, to suspend Semilla and investigate alleged anomalies concerning the registration of party members during his training in 2017.

The United States considers MM. Orellana and Curruchiche “corrupt”.

But the Constitutional Court of Guatemala had guaranteed the holding of the second round, largely won by the social democrat with nearly 60% of the votes in front of his competitor Sandra Torres who denounced a supposed “fraud” during the election and did not admitted defeat.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel said on Tuesday that the EU was “deeply concerned by the persistent attempts to undermine the election results through selective and arbitrary legal and procedural actions”.

His American counterpart Antony Blinken denounced “the continuous actions of those who seek to undermine Guatemalan democracy” and castigated “the efforts made by the public prosecutor and other actors to suspend the political party of the elected president and intimidate the electoral authorities “.

Blinken said the United States “alongside our partners in the international community and the people of Guatemala in opposing these unacceptable efforts, including the use of prosecutorial powers against those who seek transparency and accountability.” .

On Monday, the Organization of American States (OAS) considered this suspension to be an “abusive interpretation of the law” without “any basis or duly demonstrated reason”.

The lawsuits against Semilla, led by Attorney General Consuelo Porras, also considered by Washington to be “corrupt”, have led to several demonstrations in Guatemala demanding her resignation.

On the sidelines of the announcement of Semilla’s suspension, the TSE formalized the results of the second round giving Mr. Arévalo the winner. He will succeed outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei in January 2024, ending 12 years of right-wing government.