NAfter the presidential election in Guatemala, the conflict between the various institutions in the Central American country continues to escalate. Agents from the Attorney General’s Office entered the headquarters of the Supreme Electoral Court on Saturday and confiscated the official results lists from polling stations. “This is another chapter in the history of our country. We can only hope that it ends well,” said judge Blanca Alfaro, her voice choked with tears. “The election result has already been officially determined and that can no longer be changed.”
The judges tried to prevent the confiscation and fought with the public prosecutor’s office. The public prosecutor’s office did not want to comment on the motives for the raid. “It is a rescue operation for democracy, a rescue operation for sovereignty,” said the head of the Special Prosecutor against Impunity (Feci), Rafael Curruchiche, accusing the European Union and the Organization of American States (OAS) of interfering in the country’s internal affairs before.
The social democrat Bernardo Arévalo was elected as the new president of Guatemala in the runoff election on August 20th. The Attorney General’s Office has since tried to suspend his party on controversial grounds. “We are dealing with a direct and systematic attack on the integrity of the electoral process,” wrote Arévalo in a statement. “We must protect, respect and defend the choice of Guatemalans expressed at the polls.”
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