GUATEMALA CITY –
Guatemala was plunged deeper into political turmoil on Thursday as an effort by prosecutors to discredit a progressive presidential candidate prompted her conservative opponent to suspend his campaign, citing an unlevel playing field.
The government’s actions against candidate Bernardo Arévalo—first the suspension of his Moviment Llavor party, then the attack on the offices of the country’s electoral court after it had certified the election results—also provoked other objections, both within as outside Guatemala. US officials called them a threat to the country’s democracy.
By Thursday afternoon, those actions appeared to have backfired.
The Constitutional Court—the highest in Guatemala—granted a preliminary precautionary measure to the Seed Movement, blocking its suspension. Meanwhile, candidates from the left and right warned the government to let itself sway the voters.
“Clear political purpose”
It was a result that President Alejandro Giammattei probably did not expect when his administration decided to intervene in the June 25 election, which ended with Arévalo and conservative candidate Sandra Torres advancing to a presidential runoff on June 20. august
Arévalo dismissed the government’s actions as illegal.
“What they are trying to do is simply to cast doubt on our honesty,” he told a press conference on Thursday, adding that the raid and suspension of the party had a “clear political purpose”.
The Supreme Electoral Court issued an angry statement declaring that it would safeguard Guatemala’s democracy against “any attempt to interfere with the electoral process.”
Demonstrators protest in front of the Guatemalan attorney general’s office building in Guatemala City on July 13, 2023. The office announced on July 12 that a judge had suspended the legal status of the political party Movement of seeds for alleged violations.
Torres, whose UNE party has been a key force in allowing Giammattei to advance his legislative agenda, said he was pausing his campaign activities to protest the government’s actions. He likely realized that Giammattei’s mistakes could sink his own candidacy.
“We want to show our solidarity with the voters of the Llavor party and also with those who went out to vote,” he said. “As a candidate, I want to compete on equal terms.”
She asked the president to show his face.
Giammattei’s office issued a statement saying it respects the separation of powers and would not participate in any legal proceedings. He also said that, in accordance with the law, he would make presidential security available to presidential and vice-presidential candidates participating in the second round. Guatemalan law bars Giammattei from seeking re-election.
Arévalo was a surprise winner in the June 25 election, with 11.7% of the vote. In the days leading up to the vote, he had polled below 3% and was not among the top six or seven candidates, all of whom were considered on the conservative end of the political spectrum. Torres obtained 15.8% of the votes. Neither candidate came close to clearing the 50% threshold needed to win outright, necessitating a runoff in August.
Promise of change
A former diplomat and academic, Arévalo has defined himself as the candidate who would bring change to the country, while presenting Torres as someone who would probably maintain the status quo.
Arévalo also pledged to bring back prosecutors and judges who were critical to the nation’s fight against corruption but were forced out of the country under the Giammattei administration.
As the wait for election certification dragged on, anxiety grew that the government was looking for ways to change the results. First, several losing parties filed a legal challenge, leading the Constitutional Court to suspend certification and order a review of hundreds of contested polling station accounts. The review concluded with no change in results.
Then on Wednesday afternoon, anti-corruption prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche announced the suspension of the Moviment Llavor, an action that appeared to violate Guatemala’s electoral laws, which prohibit the suspension of parties during ongoing elections. Curruchiche said the party allegedly violated the law while collecting the signatures it needed to form.
The day began on Thursday with the escort of the prosecution to the offices of the Supreme Electoral Court a few hours after it certified the electoral results. The Attorney General of the Republic said on Thursday that the purpose of the raid was to gather evidence from the office responsible for electoral censuses and party registration. A raid on the Moviment Llavor party headquarters had also been planned for Thursday, but it appeared unlikely after the high court’s injunction.
The US State Department recently accused Curruchiche and his boss, Attorney General Consuelo Porras, of obstructing corruption investigations in Guatemala, and put them both on its list of anti-democratic actors.
Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Thursday that the US government was “deeply concerned” by the actions of the attorney general’s office, which he said threatened the legitimacy of the election process. “The will of the Guatemalan people must be respected, as expressed in the results of the June 25 elections,” he said.
A UN spokesman said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was watching the events in Guatemala with concern and urged all involved to act responsibly and impartially.
