The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, criticized this Saturday the “persistent and systematic” attempts to undermine the result of the elections presidential elections in Guatemala and asked to respect the will of the voters.
Guatemala’s president-elect Bernardo Arévalo, who is due to take power on January 14, has faced a judicial offensive since his victory in the second round of elections in August, including attempts to suspend his party, the Seed Movementand to prevent him from assuming power.
On Friday, Prosecutor Leonor Morales assured that the elections are “null” due to alleged administrative irregularities in the first round in June, a new attack that Arévalo described as a “blow to the heart of Guatemalan democracy.”
The High Commissioner expressed his alarm on Saturday over “the persistent and systematic attempts by the Attorney General’s Office of Guatemala to undermine the results of the general elections, ignoring the will of the voters.”
“Friday’s announcements, which seek to annul the result of the general elections and question the constitution and existence of the Semilla Movement party, are extremely worrying,” he said in a statement.
“I once again ask the competent authorities, including the current president, as well as the judiciary, to take measures to preserve the rule of law and guarantee respect for the electoral result and, therefore, the will of the majority of the people. Guatemalan,” said Türk.
Türk emphasized that judicial harassment and intimidation against electoral officials and elected politicians are unacceptable.
After prosecutors attempted to annul the election results amid accusations of an “attempted coup,” Guatemala’s electoral court insisted Friday that the results are “unalterable.”
“It is encouraging that, despite the long list of judicial and political actions taken by some authorities, which clearly undermine the integrity of the electoral process and violate the rule of law and democracy, the population is defending their rights and opposing what which he perceives as a theft of his political will,” declared Türk.
“Once again, I urge the competent authorities, including the current president, as well as the judiciary, to act to preserve the rule of law and guarantee respect for the electoral result and, therefore, the will of the majority of the Guatemalan people, he added. “It is essential to safeguard democracy and respect for human rights.”
AFP
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