Monthly Event Reports
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.
September 2023 | Raids on Electoral Tribunal hinder transition process after elections
On 12 September, the president-elect, Bernardo Arévalo, announced he would suspend his participation in the transition hand-over process with the Giammattei administration, over the raids carried out the same day by prosecutors of the Attorney General’s office in the Electoral Tribunal’s premises. Both Arévalo and officials of the Electoral Tribunal expressed concern over the “unprecedented” measure, as prosecutors opened electoral packages and handled ballots, compromising the chain of custody and the integrity of the election. Guatemalan law exclusively authorizes officials of the Electoral Tribunal to handle electoral material, yet prosecutors argued a citizen complaint had triggered the search, which was authorized by a judge. In early September, Arévalo had denounced an “attempted coup” against him, after prosecutorial actions against his Movimiento Semilla (Seed Movement) party. International bodies, such as the Organization of American States (OAS), have also expressed concern over such measures. Scores of citizens have rallied in support of Arévalo, calling for the Attorney General and other high-level officials to resign. In late September, Arévalo asked that the transition process be reactivated, in accordance with OAS recommendations.
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