Guatemala City, Oct 31 (EFE). – Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal closed the 2023 electoral process on Wednesday, assuring that the results of the June 25 and August 20 elections are incontestable.
With the end of the electoral process, “the results of the elections are made official” and “legal certainty” is guaranteed to the candidates elected, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said in a statement.
The electoral process, which began on January 20, has been considered the most controversial in Guatemala’s democratic history, due to the judicialization of the elections and the attempt by the Public Ministry (Attorney General’s Office) to overturn the results.
Social and financial sectors asked the electoral judges to extend the process until January 14, when the elected authorities must take office. However, the request was not granted.
With the end of the electoral process, several experts have warned that the Public Prosecutor’s Office, headed by Attorney General Consuelo Porras, will open new criminal cases against the results of the elections and against the elected president, Bernardo Arévalo de León.
Since July 12, the Attorney General’s Office has intervened in the elections, attempting to cancel the Seed Movement, Arévalo de León’s party, and recently confiscating the boxes containing the election results.
In October, Guatemala was paralyzed by protests and roadblocks by thousands of citizens demanding the resignation of Porras and other officials, accusing them of trying to overturn the results.
On January 14, the progressive Arévalo de León must take office as president, replacing the current president, Alejandro Giammattei, for the period 2024-2028. EFE
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