A national crisis is looming in Guatemala: the electoral authorities declared the left-wing candidate Arévalo the winner of the presidential election. At the same time, his party received a temporary work ban. The consequences are still completely unclear.
After the runoff election for the highest office of state, Guatemala is threatened with a crisis that will put the Central American country’s democracy to the test. The Supreme Electoral Court confirmed the victory of left-wing presidential candidate Bernardo Arévalo with 60.9 percent of the vote.
However, the outcome of the election is far from decided. Because Arévalo’s party was suspended shortly before the announcement of the final result at the request of a judge. An authority of the electoral court decided to withdraw the legal status of the Movimiento Semilla (Movement Seed) because of alleged irregularities in its establishment.
Arévalo’s party plans to appeal
A lawyer for the party confirmed the work ban to the AP news agency. The Movimiento Semilla now has three days to appeal the decision of the election registration authority. Given the confusing situation, it is uncertain whether Arévalo will be able to take office as party leader in mid-January as planned. It is also unclear what the decision means for the party’s MPs, who were elected in the first ballot in June.
Arévalo described the provisional ban on his party’s work as legally invalid and announced that the party would appeal against it. “As things stand at present, nobody can prevent me from taking office on January 14,” added Arévalo. On appeal, his party’s case would be heard by Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Court, which has now upheld his victory.
Investigations since the runoff election
The son of former President Juan José Arévalo, Arévalo was little known in Guatemala until he emerged as the front runner in the first round of presidential and parliamentary elections in late June, to the surprise of established forces. Since he missed an absolute majority, the runoff against former First Lady Sandra Torres took place on August 20.
Shortly after the 64-year-old entered the runoff election in the first ballot, the Attorney General’s office said it was checking whether his Movimiento Semilla had forged signatures when it was founded years earlier.
election loser Torres speaks of fraud
In the second ballot, Arévalo prevailed with 60.9 percent of the votes, Torres got 37.2 percent, according to the official result. However, the electoral loser has still not admitted her defeat. She accuses Arévalo of electoral fraud. Her party, Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (National Unity of Hope), which sees itself as social-democratic, challenged the vote count.
During the election campaign, Arévalo secured the support of many citizens with his commitment to social progress and a declaration of war against rampant corruption. Arrest warrants for officials and raids on Movimiento Semilla’s headquarters have raised concern among supporters of the party and the international community.
Assassination plot reports
Arévalo is scheduled to take office on January 14, succeeding conservative President Alejandro Giammattei. Most recently, his team had reported that there were assassination plans against him. The Washington-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called on the Guatemalan government to take urgent precautionary measures to better protect Arevalo. Outgoing Conservative incumbent Alejandro Giammattei has not yet commented on the uproar surrounding his elected successor.