Guatemalan prosecutors on Friday again lashed out at the results of last year's general election and asked a court to strip President-elect Bernardo Arevalo's immunity, saying there could be enough irregularities to overturn the election results, a move the Organization of American States condemned as "an attempted coup" in the Central American nation.
It is the third such request made by the Attorney General's Office since Arevalo won the elections in August. The president-elect is scheduled to take office on Jan. 14, though it was unclear whether prosecutors' continued attacks on him and his party could interfere with the inauguration.
At a press conference on Friday, the prosecutor's office went one step further in the onslaught on the electoral process, denouncing that there were alleged irregularities in some records that recorded the results of the elections, which, it said, could lead to annulment of them.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) responded almost immediately, pointing out that the election results are unalterable.
"The results are validated, officialized and the people (who won their positions) are duly accredited and must take office on January 14, otherwise there is a breakdown of the constitutional order," warned the presiding magistrate of that body, Blanca Alfaro.
Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo during a "march for democracy" on Thursday in Guatemala City. Photo: AFP
The prosecutor's office announced the results of its investigation against the Seed Movement, the party that led Arevalo to win the presidency and said it requested the withdrawal of his immunity to investigate him for the alleged falsification of documents in the constitution of Semilla because he had knowledge of the forgeries of signatures when the political force was created.
The Attorney General's Office is also seeking to have him stripped of his immunity to investigate him for money laundering allegedly by not registering income to the party.
The prosecutor's office also requested two actions to remove the immunity of Deputy Samuel Pérez, head of the party's caucus, under the same accusations.
Prosecutor Leonor Eugenia Morales, who is investigating the case, said that some illegalities are mismatches in some of the records used because they are not the same formats approved by the electoral magistrates, these are the minutes that recorded the results of the Central American president, vice president, mayors, deputies and deputies to the Parliament, which she said are "null and void."
Rafael Curruchiche, head of the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity, said the highest electoral body is the one that must resolve the situation on the issue. "All the political parties and all the candidates in all the elections were affected here. It will then be the Supreme Electoral Tribunal that will make the decision on the matter," Curruchiche explained.
Also at the press conference was the secretary general of the prosecutor's office, Ángel Pineda, who attacked the international community, which has expressed concern about the prosecution of the electoral process by the prosecutor's office.
"We have rejected and will always strongly reject any abusive insinuation through the interference of foreign entities or persons who have the illegal purpose of failing to investigate the crimes that we are legally obliged to clarify," said Pineda, who has been sanctioned by the U.S. government for undermining Guatemalan democracy and obstructing the fight against corruption.
A march in Guatemala City, in September, to defend the election of Bernardo Arévalo, in the face of the onslaught of the Prosecutor's Office. Photo: EFE
OAS Alarm
For his part, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro condemned in a statement what he described as an "attempted coup d'état by the Guatemalan Public Ministry."
"The actions and statements of prosecutors Rafael Curruchiche and Leonor Morales constitute an alteration of the constitutional order of the country, a breach of the rule of law and a violation of the human rights of the population," he added.
With these two actions, there are three requests for the withdrawal of Arévalo's immunity. The first was for the publication of messages on the social network X, formerly called Twitter, in which he supported the occupation of a university by students who were protesting the election of the rector.
The Attorney General's Office maintains an onslaught against the electoral process, Arévalo and the Seed Movement, as well as against some 150,000 citizens who received, counted and safeguarded the votes of the general elections.
Several governments have joined in rejecting the prosecution's actions. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that "We are facing a coup d'état in Guatemala. The OAS must act immediately. All support to the Guatemalan people. A prosecutor's office that has covered up drug trafficking and corruption acts against democracy," he said on his "X" account.
The Spanish government said in a press release that it "rejects the actions carried out by the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor's Office that threaten democracy and are a serious violation of the will of the Guatemalan people."
Source: AP