A line of voters in Guatemala. Photo: The Seattle Times.
The Constitutional Court of Guatemala has ordered the Supreme Electoral Tribunal not to disclose the results of last Sunday’s general elections.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal has announced its decision to endorse a legal appeal that was filed by nine political parties claiming that there is a risk that government posts will be determined without reviewing the voting records.
“The Supreme Electoral Tribunal must suspend the qualification and officialization of results so that, by the date scheduled for the second round of the presidential election (August 20), everything has been duly cleared up,” the court indicated in a statement.
The possible suspension of the results, for experts, generates a period of uncertainty, since, for example, the re-election of 13 Supreme Court magistrates and the renewal of the Judicial Branch, one of the three state branches, should have been carried out in 2019. However, the same authorities that should have left office four years ago remain to this day.
In its statement, the Constitutional Court added that it hopes that its decision “guarantees the democratic will of the citizens” and ordered a new review of the ballots.
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“It should be pointed out that this pronouncement must be strictly complied with within the aforementioned deadlines to guarantee that the alternation in the exercise of power is carried out on the date established in the constitution,” added the court, referring to the change of the president that must take place on January 14.
The first round of the presidential elections were led by former first lady Sandra Torres, from the National Unity of Hope (UNE), followed by Bernardo Arévalo, from the social democratic group Semilla, who surprisingly slipped into the second round after landslide victories in urban areas. In theory, they will face each other in the second round on August 20 in a runoff election that, for the moment, is uncertain. Congress, however, is still led by the pro-government group Vamos, with 39 legislators, followed by UNE (28) and Semilla (23).
(HispanTV)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
