Guatemala: new attack by the prosecutor's office against Bernardo Arévalo, the favorite of the presidential election

The standoff between Guatemala's attorney general's office and Social Democrat candidate Bernardo Arévalo, the frontrunner in the second round of the August 20 presidential election, continued on Friday. A search took place at his party's headquarters.

Agents of the National Civil Police (PNC) conduct a search at the headquarters of the Semilla political party on 21 July in Guetemala. © Moises Castillo / AP

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The Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity, in coordination with the PNC (National Civil Police), is conducting a search at the headquarters of the Semilla political party. ", located in the center of the capital Guatemala, wrote this body on Twitter, in what is a new episode in a presidential campaign marked by judicial acts.

#AhoraLH | El @MPguatemala ingresó a las instalaciones del partido #Semilla. La calle completa se encuentra cerrada por miembros de la #PNC, quiénes también resguardan la puerta de la sede del partido ubicada en la zona 1 de la ciudad.

📸 Jessica Pérez/LH pic.twitter.com/jsMoBczE2W

— Diario La Hora (@lahoragt) July 21, 2023

The search began a few hours after the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) filed an appeal to the Constitutional Court aimed at preventing the Attorney General's Office from obstructing the second round between Bernardo Arévalo and Sandra Torres, also of social democratic sensibilities. The one of the two who wins the election will succeed President Alejandro Giammattei on 14th January, putting an end to twelve years of right-wing government. But the election still has to be held.

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This act is part of the political persecution of the corrupt minority who know they are losing power day in and day out. " said Bernardo Arévalo, son of former President Juan José Arevalo (1945-1951), after the raid. Dozens of supporters of Bernardo Arévalo gathered outside the party's headquarters at the time of the search. "Curruchiche is not a prosecutor, he is a criminal," protesters chanted about the official listed by the United States in 2022 on a list of Central American nationals linked to "acts of corruption and anti-democracy."

Action by the prosecutor the day after the first round

The prosecutor's office explained that the search was carried out "to obtain evidence that solidifies the investigation" against the Semilla party for alleged irregularities during its creation in 2017. Attorney General Rafael Curruchiche began acting against Semilla after the first round of the presidential election on June 25, after which Bernardo Arévalo created a surprise by beating Ms. Torres. Judge Fredy Orellana last week suspended the party's legal registration at his request, citing alleged irregularities in the registration of its members.

The Constitutional Court, however, suspended the decision the next day, criticized both in Guatemala and abroad, as an attempt to remove Bernardo Arévalo from the second round. Also on the orders of Rafael Curruchiche, the offices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal were raided twice, in part because of his refusal to comply with Judge Orellana's controversial order to disqualify Semilla.

A week ago, he searched the offices of the Registry of Citizens. An arrest warrant was also issued for a Semilla leader. Although the candidates who won the first round are both Social Democrats, the actions of the prosecution and Judge Orellana focus on Bernardo Arévalo. It is presumably seen by powerful sectors in the country as a danger to their interests.

The current political system "is afraid of losing power"

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The current political system "is afraid of losing power," said Manfredo Marroquin of Accion Ciudadana, the local chapter of Transparency International. "They are in panic mode and are desperate for the last resort in their hands to thwart Arévalo's victory."

In his appeal to the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal asks him to order the Public Prosecutor's Office, but also the police, the army, the Supreme Court and other institutions of the country to guarantee the second round. It considers that there is "a certain, future and imminent threat that the denounced authorities will violate the democratic rule of law by not guaranteeing the exercise of the functions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, temporary electoral bodies and citizens in general".

" READ ALSO Guatemala: imbroglio around the results of the first round of the presidential election

(

With AFP)

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