The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, appeared critical on Saturday regarding the “continuous and systematic” efforts to undermine the outcome of the presidential elections in Guatemalacalling for the will of the voters to be respected.
“Once again, I call on the competent authorities, including the current president and the judiciary, to act to defend the rule of law and guarantee respect for the election result and thus the will of the Guatemalan people”Mr. Turk said, according to a press release issued by his offices in Geneva.
President-elect Bernardo Arevalo, who is expected to take office on January 14, has faced a series of legal challenges since his victory in the August presidential election: the legal status of his party, the Movimiento Semilla (“Seed Movement”) was revoked, and moves are now underway to prevent him from coming to power.
Mr. Arevalo surprisingly won the presidential election thanks to a program with the fight against corruption as a key component.
The manufacture the Guatemalan prosecutor’s office made it clear that it considers the presidential elections won by Mr. Arevalo “null and void”triggering the angry reaction of the Organization of American States (OAS), which denounced an “attempted coup”.
The Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) for its part called the election result “official” and “unchangeable”.
“The announcements (by prosecutors) on Friday, with the aim of annulling the results of the elections and questioning the Constitution and the existence of the Movimiento Semilla party, are extremely worrying”Mr. Turk ruled, according to the press release.
Judicial harassment and attempts to intimidate election officials and elected officials are unacceptable, he added.
“It is encouraging that, despite the long list of political and judicial actions by some authorities, which clearly undermine the integrity of the electoral process and violate the rule of law and democracy, the people are standing up for their rights and resisting what they perceive as the theft of their politics of the will”added Mr. Turk.
He further called on the Guatemalan authorities to respect and defend all human rights, including those of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“Threat to democracy”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Saturday condemned actions by prosecutors in Guatemala, which he sees as “threat to democracy”.
“I want to express in the most absolute way my rejection of the actions of the Guatemalan prosecutor’s office that threaten democracy and the will of the citizens expressed at the polls. Democracy must prevail”Mr. Sanchez pointed out via X (the former Twitter).
Spain, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, is constantly seeking to improve Europe-Latin America relations.
Source: News Beast
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