Guatemala suspends the legal personality of the party that won the elections

2023-08-29 03:30:00

The Registry of Citizens of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Guatemala has provisionally suspended the legal personality of the political formation Movimiento Semillaled by Bernardo Arévalo, who won the elections on August 20 after obtaining nearly 60 percent of the votes.

The person in charge of the Citizens’ Registry, Ramiro Muñoz, has agreed to suspend the political party, arguing that the second electoral round has already been held, after the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court indicated that it could not be suspended after the electoral call and until the end of the elections.

Munoz argues that This measure “does not affect or suspend” the electoral resultsaccording to the order, despite the fact that the decision was made minutes before the TSE made the results of the second round official.

The president of the electoral authority, Irma Palencia, has indicated in a press conference in which she has confirmed Arévalo’s victory over her rival, the candidate of the National Unity of Hope Sandra Torres, who obtained 39.9 percent of the votes, who was unaware of the decision of the Registry of Citizens. “Elections are essential to strengthen values, guarantee the transition to democracy, they are essential elements. The results of the elections are determined at the polls, therefore, it is important to respect the results and the decision of Guatemalans,” he declared. Palencia.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the political party would have committed a crime of laundering money or other assets, since it paid around 175,000 Guatemalan quetzales (around 20,200 euros) for the signatures it needed to establish itself.

Semilla can appeal this order and it would be the TSE that would resolve the appeal. If the latter confirmed the suspension, the formation could appeal through an amparo to the Supreme Court of Justice and, later, to the Constitutional Court.

Since Semilla achieved surprising results -compared to what the polls predicted- in the first electoral round, held on June 25, The Guatemalan Public Ministry has taken numerous actions to disable the results or outlaw the political formationactions that have received condemnation from the international community.