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☆ Guatemala Congress Strips Electoral Judges of Immunity in Troubled Transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala's ruling-party-led Congress on Friday stripped four electoral judges accused of fraud of their immunity from prosecution, in a move critics fear is aimed at blocking President-elect Bernardo Arevalo from taking office next month. The move by Congress is seen as an attempt to appoint judges who oppose Arevalo's election and is the latest in a series of measures that could hinder the transition of power. All those judges except for Palencia, have left the country, immigration authorities said. Orlando Blanco, a representative for the VOS political party, said the objective was to name anti-Arevalo judges. "They want to ignore the electoral results and they need the electoral court to abide by that decision," Blanco said.

Persons: Bernardo Arevalo, general's, Arevalo, Irma Palencia, Ranulfo Rojas, Gabriel Aguilera, Mynor Franco, Orlando Blanco, VOS, Blanco, Sofia Menchu, Sarah Morland, Diane Craft Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, Congress, San Carlos University, United Nations, Human Rights Locations: GUATEMALA, Guatemalan, Palencia, Guatemala, U.S

☆ Guatemala Congress strips electoral judges of immunity in troubled transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Police stand guard as people gather during a protest accusing Guatemala's authorities of trying to block the accession of President-elect Bernardo Arevalo, in Guatemala City, Guatemala November 21, 2023. REUTERS/Cristina Chiquin/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsGUATEMALA CITY, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Guatemala's ruling-party-led Congress on Friday stripped four electoral judges accused of fraud of their immunity from prosecution, in a move critics fear is aimed at blocking President-elect Bernardo Arevalo from taking office next month. The move by Congress is seen as an attempt to appoint judges who oppose Arevalo's election and is the latest in a series of measures that could hinder the transition of power. Orlando Blanco, a representative for the VOS political party, said the objective was to name anti-Arevalo judges. "They want to ignore the electoral results and they need the electoral court to abide by that decision," Blanco said.

Persons: Guatemala's, Bernardo Arevalo, Cristina Chiquin, general's, Arevalo, Irma Palencia, Ranulfo Rojas, Gabriel Aguilera, Mynor Franco, Orlando Blanco, VOS, Blanco, Sofia Menchu, Sarah Morland, Diane Craft Organizations: Police, REUTERS, GUATEMALA CITY, Congress, San Carlos University, United Nations, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: Guatemala City, Guatemala, GUATEMALA, Guatemalan, Palencia, U.S

CNN —Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo de León has announced he is temporarily suspending the presidential transition process after Public Ministry agents raided electoral facilities and opened voting boxes. The president-elect denounced the raids, during which Public Ministry agents opened ballot boxes and photographed their contents, according to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. The Public Ministry is investigating allegations that Movimiento Semilla – Arévalo’s Party – used forged signatures when it was seeking authorization as a political party. Giammattei said the presidency is willing to resume the transition process and described Arévalo’s decision to suspend it as “unilateral.”The Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala (TSE) held its own press conference to denounce the latest actions of the Public Ministry. Irma Palencia, the TSE’s president, said those actions had put the Guatemalan electoral system and democracy “at risk” and had violated the “civic rights of citizens expressed at the polls.”

Persons: Bernardo Arévalo de León, Alejandro, Giammattei, ” Arévalo, Arévalo, –, Consuelo Porras, “, ”, Irma Palencia Organizations: CNN, Guatemalan, Public Ministry, Ministry, Movimiento, –, Organization of American Locations: Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala

CNN —Anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo, from the progressive Movimiento Semilla party, appeared to have won Guatemala’s presidential election on Sunday, beating former first lady Sandra Torres in a race marred by fears of democratic backsliding. With more than 95% of the ballots counted, Arévalo won 59.1% of the vote compared to Torres’ 36.1%, according to official data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. A voter casts their ballot at a polling station during the presidential run-off election in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on August 20, 2023. Prosecutors and judges associated with the commission were arrested and investigated and many have since fled the country. Members of the media who have opposed corruption in their reporting have also faced legal consequences.

Persons: Bernardo Arévalo, Sandra Torres, Arévalo, Torres, Irma Palencia, “, ”, Alejandro Giammattei, Cristina Chiquin, Rafael Curruchiche, Department’s Engel, ” Curruchiche, José Rubén Zamora Organizations: CNN, Movimiento Semilla, Torres ’, Torres ’ Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza, Reuters, US, Central, United Locations: Guatemala, Guatemala City, Central American, United States, United Nations, Guatemalan

☆ OAS chief flags 'clear interference' in Guatemala election ahead of visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GUATEMALA CITY, July 26 (Reuters) - The Organization of American States (OAS) chief Luis Almagro will meet with authorities and politicians in Guatemala next week, he said on Wednesday, as concerns escalate over alleged government interference in the upcoming presidential runoff vote. The OAS, which monitored the first round, had backed the results as legitimate. "We have expressed ourselves emphatically on multiple occasions against the repeated attempts to alter the will of the people and the attacks on the electoral authorities," Almagro said in a special OAS session to discuss the election. "This is an electoral process that has suffered clear interference of internal actors that hindered its normal development," he said. Irma Palencia, the head of Guatemala's electoral court, said she has asked the OAS to continue monitoring the election.

Persons: Luis Almagro, Bernardo Arevalo, Arevalo's, Sandra Torres, Almagro, Alejandro Giammattei's, Arevalo, Torres, Irma Palencia, Sofia Menchu, Sarah Morland, Daina Beth Solomon, Jonathan Oatis, Bill Berkrot Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, of American States, OAS, Thomson Locations: GUATEMALA, Guatemala

☆ Guatemala court suspends anti-graft presidential candidate's party
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

GUATEMALA CITY, July 12 (Reuters) - A court in Guatemala suspended the party of anti-graft presidential candidate Bernardo Arevalo, a prosecutor at the Attorney General's Office said on Wednesday, throwing into question his place in a second round run-off vote. "In no way will we obey a spurious and illegal decision like the one issued by that court." Shortly after, the electoral court confirmed the first-round results, which put Arevalo into a second round. "It's something that concerns us as a court, because we know that elections are won at the polls," Irma Palencia, head of the electoral court, said when asked about the suspension. This would certainly represent an astounding new low for Guatemala," said Donald J. Planty, a former U.S. ambassador to Guatemala, about the possible suspension.

Persons: Bernardo Arevalo, Attorney General's, Arevalo, Rafael Curruchiche, Sandra Torres, Irma Palencia, Brian A, Nichols, Guatemalans, Juan Jose Arevalo, Carlos Pineda, Will Freeman, Semilla, Critics, Alejandro Giammattei, Donald J, Sofia Menchu, Valentine Hilaire, David Alire, Adriana Barrera, Cassandra Garrison, Brendan O'Boyle, Stephen Eisenhammer, Lincoln, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: GUATEMALA CITY, Attorney, CNN, Twitter, U.S, Western Hemisphere Affairs, Central American, Council, Foreign Relations, Thomson Locations: GUATEMALA, Guatemala, Nicaragua, U.S

[1/10] People attend to cast their vote at a polling station during the first round of Guatemala's presidential election in Chinautla, Guatemala, June 25, 2023. She is up against more than 20 other candidates, including Edmond Mulet, a career diplomat, and Zury Rios, daughter of the late dictator Efrain Rios Montt. "All the young people right now will have a role in politics in Guatemala in 20 years time ... "(The next) four years won't allow time to undo how poorly managed the government has been for so many years," said Andres Nolasco, a 25-year-old accountant from Guatemala City. Reporting by Sofía Menchú in Guatemala City and Diego Oré in Mexico City; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Chizu Nomiyama and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sandra Torres, Edmond Mulet, Zury Rios, Efrain Rios Montt, Maximo Santacruz, Julio Valenzuela, Alejandro Giammattei, Carlos Pineda, Pineda, Carolina Jimenez, San Jose del Golfo, Irma Palencia, Andres Nolasco, Torres, Alvaro Colom, Sofía Menchú, Diego Oré, Isabel Woodford, Daniel Wallis, Chizu Nomiyama, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, GUATEMALA CITY, Young, European Union, Washington, Central American, Thomson Locations: Chinautla, Guatemala, Josue, GUATEMALA, United States, America, WOLA, San Jose, Guatemala City, Mexico City

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