Just a few days after the elections were held in Guatemala, social organizations denounced that the general elections in the Central American country could be manipulated due to the co-opting of the courts.
ALSO READ:
Guatemala hosts second election simulation
In a statement, the Mirador constituency rejected the protections granted by the Fifth Chamber of the Administrative Court, which authorized candidates for the office of Chamber of Deputies and mayors from the Prosperidad Ciudadana party to participate in the vote.
The group also recalled that the Constitutional Court (StGB) lifted this injunction at the request of the Supreme Court, which is responsible for the elections.
#Share Before the decision of the Constitutional Court, Mirador Electoral states the following: The electoral process is subject to the judicial market. ����#miradorelectoral #Elections2023 pic.twitter.com/lZxOLw3LOT
— Guate Electoral Viewpoint (@guate_electoral)
June 12, 2023
The text states that at the beginning of the process, the Supreme Electoral Court endorsed the participation of this party and its candidates, “despite obvious vices and illegalities during its national assembly”.
Furthermore, the document states that this decision by the Constitutional Court involved “the opening of criminal proceedings against the judges of the Fifth Chamber of the Administrative Court”, implying that “abuses may have been committed in favor of the Prosperidad Ciudadana party”.
This example and “the fact that more than 51 Amparo cases are pending decision” keeps the electoral process in a state of permanent uncertainty “that threatens to continue until election day,” the statement said.
Some 9.3 million Guatemalans will go to the polls on June 25 to elect a new president and vice president, 160 members of Congress, 20 members of the Central American Parliament and 340 municipal mayors for the 2024-2028 period.