By: Staff Writer
September 15, 2023
The contentious Guatemala presidential elections have worsened the political crisis in the Central American country as the transition between the outgoing President (Alejandro) Giammattei’s government and President elect Bernardo Arévalo de León’s incoming government as Public Ministry agents have raided electoral facilities and opened voting boxes.
Arévalo said he had notified outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei, who just a day earlier had promised a smooth handover of power, and would only return to the process when the necessary conditions were met.
It was not immediately clear if it could affect the constitutionally-mandated transfer of power Jan. 14.
“We have informed President (Alejandro) Giammattei that we are temporarily suspending our participation in the administrative transition process while the necessary institutional political conditions are reestablished,” Arévalo posted Tuesday local time on X.
“The coup plotters must resign,” Arevalo said during a news conference, naming three officials at the centre of legal efforts targeting his Movimiento Semilla party: Attorney General Consuelo Porras, special prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, and Judge Fredy Orellana.
Mr Arévalo is also not taking the matter lightly, either. He added: “They have deviated from their constitutional function of investigating and prosecuting, fully towards a clear coup d’etat in progress,” he said.
Agents from the Guatemalan Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday raided facilities of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal storing ballots from the country’s June 25 election, in which Arevalo pulled off a massive upset to advance to a run-off.
They opened boxes of votes and photographed their contents in what experts called an “unprecedented” violation of the law.
Before Arevalo’s eventual second-round win on August 20, Currichiche’s office sought to suspend his political party, provoking international consternation over attempted election interference.
Currichiche told reporters on Tuesday that the latest raids had nothing to do with any investigation into Movimiento Semilla, but rather a “citizen complaint” of alleged irregularities.
In a statement, President Alejandro Giammattei’s government said it respected Arevalo’s decision but did not agree with it because it was made as a result of actions beyond the executive branch, “which do not interfere with the process that had been developed to date.”
“We reiterate our firm willingness to immediately resume the transition process as soon as the elected authorities request it,” the government added.
Arevalo, who campaigned on pledges to tackle corruption, resoundingly won the Aug. 20 second-round run-off election.
Prosecutors had threatened to bar his party, Semilla, from the election, prompting an international outcry.
Shortly before electoral tribunal officials declared Arevalo the victor, his party Semilla was notified that a branch of the tribunal suspended the party over registration flaws.
The tribunal has since temporarily revoked the suspension order through October.