The Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office, accused on September 1 of promoting a “coup d’état” by the elected president, Bernardo Arévalo, attacked the electoral process again on Tuesday, by opening boxes with votes from the elections of June 25. , an unprecedented action and considered “illegal” by the electoral court.
“They are taking desperate measures to overthrow democracy in Guatemala because they did not win at the polls,” representative Samuel Pérez, a member of the Semilla Movement, Arévalo’s party, told reporters in reaction to the judicial proceedings.
For his part, the elected president demanded the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo Porras, as well as a prosecutor and a judge for orchestrating an alleged coup d’état plan.
“Guatemalans, the coup plotters must resign, Attorney General Consuelo Porras, Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche and Judge Fredy Orellana in a perverse association have undertaken a new escalation in the developing coup,” Arévalo said at a press conference.
The Prosecutor’s Office, protected by an order issued by criminal judge Orellana, raided a headquarters of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to access 160 boxes containing the votes from the first round held on June 25 and carried out a recount of the votes.
This diligence “arises from the complaint of a citizen who alleged illegalities,” alleged prosecutor Curruchiche, who was in charge of opening the electoral boxes and who in 2022 was sanctioned by the United States under allegations of corruption and undermining of justice.
On September 1, Arévalo de León had publicly warned that “a coup d’état” was underway, orchestrated by Attorney General Consuelo Porras to prevent him from taking office on January 14. Prosecutor Currichiche denied these accusations.
They point out illegalities
“It is something unprecedented in Guatemala. The electoral law does not authorize anyone to open the electoral boxes and see what is in them, the scrutiny is exclusive of the vote receiving boards,” declared Gloria López, electoral director of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
The electoral authorities opposed the action of the Prosecutor’s Office and warned that if the votes are seized, custody of them will be lost and the Public Ministry will be responsible for the effects that this may have. .
For her part, the lawyer and deputy elected by Semilla Andrea Reyes confirmed to the EFE agency that they are preparing legal actions to try to reverse the recent actions of the Prosecutor’s Office.
Reyes argued that although prosecutor Curruchiche denies that the procedure has to do with the president-elect’s party, Judge Orellana ordered the raids under the file number of the judicial case against this political group for alleged false signatures in the process of creation in 2018.
According to analysts and lawyers, the Prosecutor’s Office seeks, with these actions, to create the scenario to request a judicial process against Arévalo de León, after having failed in the attempt to cancel his party on the way to the runoff that was held last year. 20th of August.