Thelma Cabrera, candidate of the Movement for the Liberation of Peoples, 2019 in Guatemala Santiago Billy (AP)
Electoral authorities in Guatemala have excluded candidates from the left-wing Movement for the Liberation of Peoples (MLP) from the presidential election. The Central American country’s electoral court ruled Thursday night against an appeal by the MLP leadership after the electoral board ruled in late January not to accept the registration of Thelma Cabrera and Jordán Rodas as candidates for the presidency and vice presidential elections scheduled for June. Cabrera, an indigenous Mayan leader, and Rodas, a former human rights lawyer, are voices criticizing President Alejandro Giammattei’s government, and the electoral tribunal’s decision has been branded in Guatemala as political revenge.
The verdict was decided by the court’s plenary session of judges after several hours of detention and while dozens of MLP supporters protested at the organization’s headquarters. The demonstrators threatened nationwide protests, road closures and pickets in major Guatemalan cities. Cabrera and Rodas now have an opportunity to appeal to the Supreme Court and seek an overturn of the electoral court’s decision. However, the court was accused of lacking impartiality and defending the interests of the executive branch led by Giammattei. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has expressed concern over the Court’s judges’ decision to waive the immunity of Judge Pablo Xitumul de Paz, Judge of the First Court for Criminal Sentencing, Drug Trafficking and Crimes against the Environment, at the trial of a preliminary hearing against Judge Erika Aifán of the First Criminal Court of First Instance for drug trafficking and crimes against the environment. Aifán had to leave Guatemala because of threats against him.
Human rights organizations and international observers have criticized the electoral tribunal’s decision to exclude Cabrera and Rodas from the elections. “The decision to invalidate the annulment lawsuit filed by the MLP and ban the Cabrera-Rodas binomial from the campaign is an ‘electoral coup’ that undermines the integrity and credibility of the elections,” wrote political scientist Daniel Zovatto is an expert on Latin American elections.
Cabrera and Rodas announced in December their decision to run in the presidential elections. The leader of the indigenous Maya is a prominent human rights defender and was already aiming for the presidency in the last election when she surprisingly finished fourth in the first round with more than 450,000 votes, although it was not enough for the second round. This was disputed by Alejandro Giammattei and Sandra Torres, who lost the election. For his part, Rodas has gained international recognition for his fight against impunity during the administration of former President Jimmy Morales and the current Giammattei administration.
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