Monthly Event Reports
March 2024 | Electoral judges are indicted for fraud
On 14 March, four electoral judges of Guatemala’s Electoral Tribunal were indicted for fraud for allegedly purchasing results transmission technology (for the 2023 elections) at inflated prices. The judges had been stripped of their immunity by a majority in Congress last November, in a measure widely deemed political in nature and criticised as part of the prosecutorial efforts to overturn the results of the 2023 elections. The move had sparked international condemnation and sanctions by the United States. Since then, the electoral judges had been in exile. Upon their return to Guatemala to face the accusations, the presiding criminal judge refused prosecutors’ call for the electoral judges to face additional charges for breach of duties and to remain in pre-trial detention.
January 2024 | President Arévalo sworn in with delays and his party left out of Congress leadership
Bernardo Arévalo took office as President of Guatemala after numerous post-election hurdles and delays. Prosecutorial actions and investigations into Arévalo and his Semilla Party, widely considered to be unfounded and political in nature, as well as other attempts to undermine the Electoral Tribunal’s authority, had caused serious concerns about the transition of power. A group of regional leaders and diplomats, including the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, issued a statement in support of Arévalo, underlining the need to ensure that the popular will be respected and calling on Congress to abide by its mandate. Days later, the Constitutional Court ordered that elections for congressional leadership be repeated. This followed an appeal by a member of the opposition, who argued that due to the suspension of Semilla’s legal personality, its members could not take leadership roles. After a repeat election, a Blue Party legislator assumed the presidency of Congress’s Board, excluding Semilla Party members from leadership positions.
December 2023 | Constitutional Court calls on Congress to ensure political transition
After prosecutorial and congressional actions that have targeted President-elect Bernardo Arevalo, his Movimiento Semilla Party, and members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the Constitutional Court issued a notable ruling in which it called on Congress to ensure the peaceful transition of political power, due to take place on 14 January. The Court made a similar call to outgoing President Giammattei. The Court’s decision came in response to an appeal from lawyers, who asked the Court to provide assurances for a democratic transition, given the risk to democracy that such targeted actions entail. The decision is notable given the pressure that the Attorney General’s (AG) office has exerted against Arevalo assuming office. Previously, at the request of the AG’s office, Congress had lifted the immunity of four members of the TSE, causing concern that they would be arrested. Further, a prosecutor from the AG’s office called for the annulment of the elections for supposed irregularities.
November 2023 | Prosecutorial actions against president-elect spark protests and international condemnation
Guatemala’s Attorney General sparked international condemnation and further protests after seeking to strip the immunity of president-elect Bernardo Arévalo, his vice president-elect Karin Herrera, and members of his Semilla Party. The Attorney General’s office has opened an investigation for alleged crimes of “usurpation of cultural assets and illicit organization”. Such accusations, widely viewed as political in nature, relate to statements made by Arévalo and Herrera regarding a May 2022 student protest in which the students occupied the country’s only state university campus, to object to the process by which a new dean was elected. The Organization of American States has condemned the Attorney General’s request, stating that the prosecutorial actions constitute a transgression of the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Meanwhile, the United States has announced further visa restrictions and economic sanctions against officials who undermine the democratic process.
Explore past monthly event reports
GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022
Basic Information
Human Rights Treaties
Global State of Democracy Indices
Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years
Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time
Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time