Guatemala City (BLAZETRENDS).- The Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor’s Office) of Guatemala reported that it requested the suspension of the legal personality of the Semilla party for an alleged case of corruption, and it was endorsed by a criminal judge of the Judicial Branch of the Central American country.
The prosecutor of the Public Ministry of Guatemala, Rafael Curruchiche, sanctioned by the United States in 2022 on charges of creating false cases against ex-authorities, detailed this Wednesday afternoon through a message released by the entity.
Curruchiche indicated that the decision is due to a case called “Seed Corruption”, due to alleged false signatures, and leaves in the air the candidacy of Bernardo Arévalo de León, who advanced to the second presidential round in the June 25 elections.
It is unprecedented in Guatemala
The decision of the Public Ministry is unprecedented in Guatemala, since according to local and international sectors had warned in recent weeks, the courts and Justice should not interfere in the results of the polls.
“The Seventh Criminal Instance Court ordered the suspension of the legal personality of the Semilla political party,” Curruchiche said in the message through the official channels of the Public Ministry, without mentioning the future of the elections.
The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Semilla of alleged illegal electoral financing and the use of false signatures.
Arévalo de León had managed to advance to the runoff after surprisingly obtaining second place in the elections on June 25, behind former first lady Sandra Torre.
Pact of Corrupt…
The officialization of the results was pending after the Constitutional Court, the highest court of the Central American country, ordered a new review of the electoral records on July 1, which took place from July 4 to 6.
The Guatemalan electoral process was widely marked prior to the elections by the suspension of three candidacies with the possibility of winning the presidential elections.
The announcement of the suspension of Semilla came while the Supreme Electoral Tribunal was preparing this afternoon to make the results of June 25 official, but the entity’s press conference has not yet taken place.
Arévalo de León had already warned in recent days that the “Corrupt Pact” that has “co-opted” the State would try to block his arrival at the presidency.
In Guatemala, a group of politicians, soldiers, businessmen and people linked to drug trafficking who have co-opted most of the State institutions since they achieved the expulsion in 2019 of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala are called the “Corrupt Pact”. (Cicig), a UN entity that dismantled more than 200 corruption structures.
Electoral Court of Guatemala formalizes progress
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala made official the results of the elections held on June 25, where former first lady Sandra Torres and academic Bernardo Arévalo de León advanced to the second presidential round.
The officialization of the results was pending after the Constitutional Court, the highest court of the Central American country, ordered a new review of the electoral records on July 1.
The decision of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) comes minutes after the Guatemalan Prosecutor’s Office surprisingly announced the legal suspension of Semilla based on a criminal case. However, the TSE said it was unaware of this for the moment and ordered the presidential runoff for next August 20, as scheduled in the electoral calendar.