The Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU) called this Sunday on the Guatemalan Congress to hand over “the powers provided for in the Constitution” to the elected president. Bernardo Arevalo de Leon.
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“The Guatemalan people expressed their democratic will in fair, free and transparent elections” assured a joint statement “of all delegations invited and represented here” in Guatemala on the inauguration of the elected president.
The statement was read out in an impromptu press conference by the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, after a meeting between the foreign ministers of several countries in the region who attended the handover of command in the Central American country.
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“Gathered in Guatemala City for the Presidential Inauguration, We call on the Congress of the Republic to fulfill its constitutional mandate “Today we will hand over power to President-elect Bernardo Arévalo and Vice President-elect Karin Herrera, as provided for in the Constitution,” Almagro said.
The OAS and the EU are calling on the Guatemalan Congress to hand over power to Bernardo Arévalo
The diplomat added that the “will” of the people, reflected in the 2023 elections, must be “respected”.
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USA He also demanded this Sunday that the Guatemalan Congress “respect the will of the people in the elections” to make way for the inauguration of the new president. “There is no doubt that Bernardo Arévalo is the president of Guatemala,” the administrator of the US Agency for International Development announced through her channels. Samantha Powerwho leads the American delegation attending the inauguration of the new president.
“We ask everyone to remain calm and the Guatemalan Congress to respect the will of the people,” added Power, who arrived in the Guatemalan capital this Sunday.
Likewise, the senior official recalled that “the world is watching” what is happening in the Central American country, where the new president must take office to lead the head of state for a period of four years.
“We have just finished a press conference where the presidency of Costa Rica, the presidency of Paraguay, we worked with the foreign ministers and heads of delegations to release a statement in support of the constitutional process that must allow President Bernardo Arévalo.” “I will take the oath in the next few hours,” said the Paraguayan president. Santiago Pena.
Gabriel Boric also expressed his opinion in the same direction. “My full support goes to the legitimately elected President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo. “Democracy always!” said the Chilean president.
Argentina He also addressed X to condemn the delay in investiture and He demanded that all Guatemalan institutions respect the constitutional order.
The inauguration of Arévalo de León was hindered because the Guatemalan Congress did not move forward with the swearing in of the 160 new MPs in the morning as officially planned.
The presentation of credentials to the new legislators is an essential prerequisite for the inauguration of the new president.
The tension arises after an electoral process marked since July last year by attempts by the Public Ministry (Prosecution) to prevent Arévalo de León from taking office this Sunday, as provided for by law.
Luis Almagro visited Guatemala three times in recent months to oversee the transition process that must take place with the departure of current President Alejandro Giammattei this Sunday.
Congress is stuck in last-minute discussions that are delaying the inauguration Arévalo, the target of judicial maneuvers that sought for months to overturn the surprise victory he won with his anti-corruption pledge.
Guatemala's constitution stipulates that Congress must swear in the new president no later than 4:00 p.m. local time (22:00 GMT). However, when this deadline expired, the new parliament had not even been established.
“MPs have a responsibility to respect the will of the people expressed during the elections. They try to violate democracy with illegalities, petty things and abuse of power,” wrote Arévalo on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
The predominantly right-wing Congress cannot agree on the election of the new executive committee as it debates whether to declare the deputies of the Semilla de Arévalo party “independent” following a court order suspending that political movement for alleged irregularities should in its creation.
The delay in the investiture sparked unrest among hundreds of Arévalo's supporters, including many indigenous people, who made their way to the parliament building amid crowds of police. So far the police have not suppressed the demonstration.
Nine heads of state are invited to the event, including the King of Spain, Felipe VIand the presidents of Chile, Gabriel Boric; Colombia, Gustavo Petroand Panama, Laurentino Cortizoamong others, in addition to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.