The election meddling saga in Guatemala is still not over as electoral authorities once again suspended President-elect Bernardo Arevalo's party, the Seed Movement.
Guatemala’s top electoral authority said Sunday it blocked the suspension of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo’s Seed Movement, at least temporarily giving the party back its legal status and cutting off an attempt by opposing political forces to weaken him. The decision by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal came days after the electoral registry suspended the party on a judge’s order. Its decision holds until the official end of the electoral period Oct. 31, because Guatemala’s electoral law does no
Thousands of farmers and Indigenous supporters on Tuesday blocked roads and streets in Guatemala to defend the president-elect as government prosecutors seek to ban his political party. Protests organized by the Farmworkers' Development Council set up about 14 blockades on Guatemala's seven main highways and blocked several streets in Guatemala City. Protesters are demanding the resignation of prosecutors who have sought to ban the Seed Movement party of president-elect Bernardo Arévalo.
The head of the Organization of American States' election observation mission said Friday that the actions taken by Guatemala’s justice system against the Seed Movement party of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo appear to be aimed at preventing him from taking power. Eladio Loizaga told a special meeting of the permanent council that the Aug. 20 election was peaceful, transparent and left no doubt as to the will of the people. “Given the documented conditions, it is impossible that the Electoral Observation Mission would arrive at any other conclusion than that in this very specific case the mechanisms and tools of Guatemalan justice are being used politically” against the Seed Movement, he said, adding that the behavior of Guatemalan authorities has been “selective, disproportionate and clearly tailored to the political moment.”