Demonstrators in front of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala, this Saturday. Esteban Biba (EF)
On a day when citizens’ strikes were called for, the Constitutional Court suspended the publication of the results of Guatemala’s June 25 general election pending clarification on issues raised by nine political parties, including the National Unity of Hope, whose candidate is on them waiting to play the second round. The Constitutional Chamber is ordering that before August 20, the scheduled date for the presidential runoff, all electoral commissions in the country repeat hearings and, if necessary, conduct a recount of votes to refine the results.
According to the decision of the Constitutional Chamber, the Supreme Electoral Court must “suspend the qualification and publication of the results so that everything is properly settled by the scheduled date of the second round of the presidential elections.” The court points out that the deadlines must be “strictly observed” to “ensure that the change in power is carried out on the date provided for in the Constitution”. According to the constitutional framework, the replacement of the president must take place on January 14, 2024.
More than two million citizens went to the polls last Sunday to elect MPs, mayors and the next president of the Central American country. With 98% of the ballots processed, the Supreme Electoral Court announced a possible second round between Conservative candidate Sandra Torres of the National Unity of Hope party, who received 15% of the valid votes, and Social Democrat Bernardo Arévalo of the Movimiento Seed, who surprisingly Reached 12% of voter preferences. Analysts like Ricardo Sáez de Tejada believe that Arévalo has attracted the vote of civic fatigue and rejection of the options that represent the continuity of the authoritarianism that deepened during the government of Alejandro Giammattei, which forced almost 100 judicial officials into exile has. , human rights defenders and journalists.
On Saturday night, Arévalo arrived at the Constitutional Court, where he was handed a megaphone and said: “We have come to defend the freedom of expression of the Guatemalan people in the elections; A freedom of expression that today, as always, those who fear democracy and decency are desperate to destroy.” The constitutional decision “threatens to postpone the second round indefinitely,” said Arévalo, promising to “defend the results.”
Observers call for respect for people’s opinions
The election observation missions of the European Union and the Organization of American States (OAS) indicated that the votes had been duly concluded and called for the results to be respected. “Maintaining the above integrity and respect for popular expression through voting is critical to maintaining the fullest confidence of citizens and the international community in the elections,” the OAS said.
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The revised result of the Guatemala City mayoral candidates prompted the review of the protocol in the capital. Inconsistencies were found when comparing the data from the electronic system. As the days went by, doubts grew over the results between parties such as the pro-government party Vamos under President Giammattei and the Valor party, which nominated Zury Ríos Sosa, daughter of dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, for president.
As of Friday, nine political parties — Cambio, Mi Familia, Valor, Podemos, Vamos, Creo, Cabal y Azul and UNE — had questions about the findings and called for the Constitutional Chamber to intervene. Lawyers like Oswaldo Samayoa warned that the court does not have the jurisdiction to rule on complaints against the electoral authority, but the court did respond to the nine parties’ request to “ensure the purity of the electoral process and that the Republican, Democratic and Democrat parties to do this”. “The representative system suffers no impairments,” as they announced.
The unexpected surge in the seed movement, which garnered less than 3% of the vote in the polls, has sparked accusations of fraud in the most conservative sectors, and they have pointed out that Guatemala faces a “communist threat” embodied in Semilla, an extreme which Arévalo himself described as “distracting” in an interview with EL PAÍS this week. “They try to distract the population from what is essential: whether Guatemala is a viable country with institutions that respond to collective interests or a state in the hands of criminal groups – the only thing they are looking for is personal enrichment,” he said.
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