2023-09-01 23:00:00
Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo on Friday denounced plans for a “coup” aimed at preventing him from taking power in January after winning the August 20 election with a promise to fight against corruption.
“There is a group of corrupt politicians and officials who refuse to accept the result (of the poll) and who have set up a plan to break the constitutional order and violate democracy,” Mr Arévalo said. during a press conference.
“These actions constitute a coup promoted by the institutions that should guarantee justice in our country,” he added.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on Monday suspended, at the request of a judge, the Semilla party of Mr. Arévalo, who is due to take office on January 14.
The president-elect had described this resolution as “absolutely illegal”, noting however that the TSE had only followed the order of the judge at the request of the prosecution. “There is a process of political persecution” against him and his party, he said.
The decision was criticized in particular by the European Union and the United States.
On Tuesday, Semilla’s lawyer, Me Juan Gerardo Guerrero, told the press that he had filed “a request for annulment” with the TSE.
After the first round of the presidential election on June 25, Judge Fredy Orellana had already ordered the TSE, at the request of prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, to suspend the party and investigate alleged anomalies concerning the registration of members during its formation. in 2017.
The United States considers MM. Orellana and Curruchiche as “corrupt”.
The TSE had not followed the judge’s order on the grounds that it is impossible to suspend a party in the middle of the electoral process.
The Constitutional Court of Guatemala then guaranteed the holding of the second round on the scheduled date between the two qualified candidates, Mr. Arévalo and the former First Lady Sandra Torres.
On August 20, Bernardo Arévalo emerged as the clear winner with nearly 60% of the vote. His opponent, herself seen as a corrupt person by many Guatemalans, denounced an alleged “fraud” during the election.
01/09/2023 22:58:56 – Guatemala (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
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