GUATEMALA CITY, Aug 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) suspended the political party of president-elect Bernardo Arevalo on Monday while also affirming his victory in the Aug 20 vote, a resolution from the body said.
The move is unlikely to impact Arevalo’s swearing in as president on Jan 14 but unless resolved it could limit his party’s ability to preside over committees in Congress.
A TSE resolution said Arevalo’s Movimiento Semilla, or Seed Movement, political party had been provisionally suspended.
Arevalo, a 64-year-old sociologist and former diplomat, had campaigned against government corruption by the political establishment, a message that resonated with voters seeking fresh faces in power.
Ahead of the vote, he accused authorities of political persecution, after prosecutors tried to suspend Semilla and ordered raids against his party offices.
After the first round of voting on June 25, Guatemalan judge Fredy Orellana, at the request of prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche — both on a US list of “corrupt actors” — ordered the electoral court to suspend Semilla amid an investigation into alleged anomalies in its registration as a party.
The court did not comply with the judge’s order, saying a party could not be suspended in the middle of the election, which went to a run-off on Aug 20.
With the election over, however, authorities complied with Orellana’s order.
Meanwhile, the party of Sandra Torres, who came in second in the runoff, has alleged fraud in the August vote which saw her defeat.
But TSE Secretary General Mario Velasquez said in a news conference Monday that Arevalo’s triumph was legal and that he would take office.
Arevalo is set to succeed outgoing President Alejandro Giammettei, ending 12 years of right-wing rule. — NNN-AGENCIES
