Guatemala Elections: Bernardo Arevalo Certified as Presidential Election Winner But Congress Refuses To Accept His Party

The Congress of Guatemala has continued to refuse to recognize Bernardo Arevalo's Seed Movement Party, even after the country's election body finally recognized him as the official president-elect following the tumultuous Guatemala elections.

Arevalo's party has been subjected to raids and harassment from the country's ruling party ever since he qualified for the presidential runoff election earlier this month. One of the methods the government has employed against the anti-corruption crusader's party was suspending it on suspicion that many of its members were fake.

According to the Associated Press, the country's congress declared members of Arevalo's Seed Movement, or Semila, as Independents despite its party leader winning the presidential election. There are currently seven lawmakers affiliated with the party but they are not recognized as members of that party.

Currently, Guatemala's Congress is controlled in its majority by the governing party allied to President Alejandro Giammattei and losing presidential candidate Sandra Torres.Torres' party, which is allied with the current administration, launched a complaint regarding the results, alleging that there was fraud. They presented no evidence of this.

Anti-corruption prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche was the one who advised Congress to suspend the party as investigations are ongoing. Curruchiche has been sanctioned by the US government for allegedly obstructing corruption investigations. As for the party, the Seed Movement was accused of wrongdoing in gathering signatures for the party's registration several years ago.

Arevalo, who is currently a lawmaker himself, is one of the seven people declared as independents. As independents, they cannot hold leadership positions in the Congress. The seven party members also lost the presidency of the one and only congressional committee that they previously held.

Bernardo Arevalo Certified but Party's Future Remains Uncertain

Guatemala's election body has now officially certified Bernardo Arevalo as president-elect, but with his party still suspended by the electoral registry, things might get complicated not just for him and his party, but all of Guatemala.

However, despite this uncertainty, the new president-elect of Guatemala remains confident that he will be taking his oath of office as the recognized winner and next president.

"As of this moment, no one can stop me from taking office on Jan. 14," he said in a news conference.

The Seed Movement is yet to appeal the ruling, according to France 24. However, should this happen, the country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal will be taking up the case.

Bernardo Arevalo started out as a relatively unknown candidate. Even though he was one of over 20 candidates in the primaries, nobody expected him to place second and qualify for the run-off election, which he won. He ran as an anti-corruption candidate and many in Guatemala voted for him after several popular opposition candidates were disqualified.

US State Department Reacts to Guatemala Election Results

Meanwhile, Bernardo Arevalo has been recognized as the true winner of the Guatemala elections by international organizations amd several countries, including the US.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Arevalo and saluted Guatemala for making their voices heard. However, he stated that "The United States remains concerned with continued actions by those who seek to undermine Guatemala's democracy."

The statement was released on the State Department's official website.

"Such anti-democratic behavior, including efforts by the Public Ministry and other actors to suspend the President-elect's political party and intimidate election authorities, undercuts the clear will of the Guatemalan people and is inconsistent with the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter," it read.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Guatemala's Election Surprise - Hudson institute