A supporter of the Seed Movement protesting in Guatemala City's Central Park, one day after the June 2023 presidential elections. Photo: VOA/File photo.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Guatemala denied, until the end of the electoral process on October 31, the resolution of the Registry of Citizens that temporarily cancelled the Semilla party.
The plenary of magistrates of the TSE, through a legal appeal, urged the three powers of the state to “continue to watch over the respect for the popular will manifested in the ballot boxes, along with the integrity, purity and efficacy of the electoral process.”
The decision came after the winner of the elections, Bernardo Arévalo, general secretary of the Semilla party, requested that the resolution be nulled, which was issued last August 28 by the general director of the Registry of Citizens, Ramiro Muñoz.
Muñoz had followed the order of a judge, notwithstanding the indications of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Justice to stop the suspension of parties during the electoral process.
The president elect of Guatemala said that same Monday, after finding out about Muñoz’s resolution, that nothing could prevent the upcoming inauguration on January 14, 2024.
The former diplomat and current congressman declared that the party “will not give up its struggle for the results of the elections, and for the rule of law and the democratic regime of the country to be respected.”
Two days later, the board of directors of the (unicameral) Congress joined in on the maneuvers to remove the Semilla party from the political game and declared its five parliamentarians as independent.
These events fueled tensions in the Central American country, and Arévalo himself denounced an ongoing coup d’état promoted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
He called for unity to defeat the maneuvers that “intend to keep us submerged in corruption, impunity and poverty.”
Hundreds of citizens marched the day before to the National Palace of Culture (headquarters of the government of Guatemala) in defense of democracy and to demand the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo Porras.
“This is a cycle of protests that is just beginning,” said one of the organizers of the protest, while participants from different departments of the country displayed on posters “here is the strength of the people.”
Translation by Orinoco Tribune
OT/ECS/DD
