The Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor’s Office) of Guatemala carried out this Thursday a search of the Supreme Electoral Tribunalafter ordering on Wednesday the suspension of the Semilla group, which advanced to the second presidential round in the Central American country at the hands of its candidate, Bernardo Arevalo de Leon.
The search took place at the headquarters of the entity, in the center of the City of
Guatemala, and, according to official sources, the prosecutors entered the Political Organizations section of the court.
The Public Ministry had informed on Wednesday that a judge legally suspended Semilla from its legal creation, while the Minutes later, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal confirmed said party and its candidate as a participant in the second round of elections, along with former first lady Sandra Torres
. “The Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity is carrying out search, inspection, registration and seizure of evidence proceedings,” the Public Ministry said Thursday through its official communication accounts.
The raid raises uncertainty over the elections in the Central American country, as the Prosecutor’s Office seeks the suspension of Semilla, while the Supreme Electoral Tribunal has validated Torres and Arévalo de León as the participants in the second electoral round.
The accusation against seed
The head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity, Rafael Curruchichesanctioned by the United States in 2022 on charges of creating false cases against ex-authorities, reported on the accusation in a video message on Wednesday.
Curruchiche indicated that the accusation is due to a case called “Seed Corruption”, for alleged false signatures.
The Public Ministry’s decision is unprecedented in the context of elections in the Central American country and, according to various social organizations and various sectors, is an attempted “electoral coup” similar to a “coup d’état.”
The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Semilla of alleged illegal electoral financing and the use of false signatures and for this reason the seventh criminal court ordered its suspension.
This court is the same one that was in charge of one of the cases against the journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, in prison since July 29, 2022, just five days after launching strong criticism of the president’s inner circle, Alejandro Giammattei.
Arévalo de León had managed to advance to the runoff after surprisingly obtaining second place in the elections on June 25, behind former first lady Sandra Torres, while polls placed him in seventh or eighth place.
The officialization of the results by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal was pending after the Constitutional Court, the highest court of the Central American country, ordered a new review of the electoral records on July 1, which took place from July 4 to 6. of July.
The Guatemalan electoral process was widely marked prior to the elections by the suspension of three candidacies with the possibility of winning the presidential elections.
The Semilla group was born from the demonstrations against corruption registered in the Central American country during 2015 and which culminated in the fall of the Government of Otto Pérez Molina (2012-2015), currently in prison.
EFE
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