Guatemala: Police Raid Electoral Tribunal and Open Ballot Boxes as President-Elect Bernardo Arevalo Suspends Transition

By Rick Martin Sep 12 2023, 23:30 PM EDT

The Guatemala election saga is not yet over, as police raided election facilities belonging to the country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal on Tuesday. This comes as the tribunal certified the win of opposition candidate and new president-elect, Bernardo Arevalo, who has vowed to go after the country's political elite.

Elements from the Guatemalan attorney general's office conducted the raid, and they reportedly opened dozens of boxes containing votes and also photographed what was inside.

Supreme Electoral Tribunal spokesman Luis Gerardo Ramírez told the Los Angeles Times that the AG's Office did not have any permission to open the boxes. Ramirez also noted that the raid was under the order of a judge who, with the attorney general's office, had asked to review at least 160 ballot boxes with the votes still inside them. These ballot boxes contained votes from various parts of Guatemala.

Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, who is under a US corruption watchlist, led the investigation against the anti-corruption crusader-turned-President-Elect Bernardo Arevalo. The prosecutor was previously sanctioned by the US government for "obstructing Guatemala's fight against corruption."

It is still unclear whether Judge Fredy Orellana, who was also sanctioned by the US government for corruption, was behind the order to carry out the raid.

Arevalo has been hounded by elements of the current Guatemalan government ever since he qualified for the run-off elections against establishment candidate Sandra Torres. The offices of his Seed Movement party have since been raided and suspended, though the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reversed that suspension.

Guatemala President-Elect Bernardo Arevalo Suspends Transition Amid Raid

Following the raid against the tribunal, President-Elect Bernardo Arevalo announced that he was temporarily suspending the transition process. However, he also called for the resignation of the attorney general as experts called the raid an "unprecedented violation of the law."

Arevalo also stated that he has already notified outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei about this. Giammattei previously promised a smooth transition but has been unable to stop his attorney general from interfering in the peaceful handover of power.

The president-elect also told his predecessor that he would only return to the transition process if the necessary conditions were met. The Associated Press noted that it is unclear if this temporary suspension would affect the country's constitutionally mandated transfer of power, scheduled for January 14 of next year.

Gloria López, electoral director of the tribunal, also slammed the AG's actions, saying, "This is unprecedented, the law does not establish a process for this."

She added that the ballots in the opened boxes do not have a digital backup, so in handling them, the AG's Office was breaking the Supreme Electoral Tribunal's chain of custody and is therefore illegal.

Foreign Observers Lauded Guatemala Elections Despite AG and Courts Meddling

Bernardo Arevalo's win sent shockwaves to Guatemala's political elite and international observers, such as the Organization of American States, the US government, the UN, and the EU, who all cited that there were no anomalies in the voting except for the interference being done by the AG's Office and the courts after the primary election.

The Roman Catholic Church also lauded Arevalo's victory, with the National Catholic Reporter noting that Cardinal Alvaro Ramazzini of Huehuetenango invited faith leaders from five countries to observe the August 20 run-off between Arevalo and Torres.

Catholic leaders also stated that "It's a beautiful moment" in the country's history after years of rampant corruption.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Guatemala's anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arevalo wins presidential election • FRANCE 24