Guatemala Election Chaos: AG Says Probe on Prez Candidate Arevalo to Continue – News18

The Guatemalan Attorney General’s office said Friday it would not drop an investigation into the party of presidential candidate Bernardo Arevalo, but insisted this would not interfere with the August 20 vote.

The announcement came a day after the country’s highest court overturned the suspension of Arevalo’s Semilla party just weeks ahead of the vote in a move that left his position uncertain and prompted international concern.

“There are going to be difficult days from now until August 20, we are going to have to fight lies and misinformation,” Arevalo told hundreds of Mayan indigenous supporters at a rally in Solola, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of the capital.

Wearing a hat and coat featuring indigenous embroidery, the candidate said “the castle of corruption, where our country was imprisoned, has begun to crumble.”

Arevalo finished second behind Sandra Torres in a first election round on June 25. The two must now face off at the polls on August 20 to become leader of a country beset by poverty, corruption and gang violence.

As both are from social democratic parties, the contest would yield the Central American country’s first president from the left of the political spectrum in more than a decade.

But on Wednesday, a court granted a request for the suspension of Arevalo’s Semilla (Seed) party brought by anti-graft prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, who is under US sanctions.

The ruling against Semilla sparked protests in the capital and stern rebukes from the United Nations, United States and European Union.

The Constitutional Court overturned the lower court’s decision on Thursday, paving the way for the runoff to go ahead as scheduled.

Then on Friday, the Attorney General’s office said it would continue investigating Semilla but insisted the move was “not intended to interfere with… the second round nor to disqualify any candidate.”

Curruchiche claims thousands of people were falsely listed as Semilla members, invalidating the party’s registration in 2018.

But Semilla said the moves against it were motivated by Arevalo’s unexpectedly good showing in the June polls, from which three other popular candidates had previously been disqualified.

‘Corrupt actors’

Curruchiche was appointed by Attorney General Consuelo Porras, who features on a US list of “corrupt actors” accused of obstructing anti-graft investigations based on political considerations.

She abruptly fired Curruchiche’s predecessor — one of several prosecutors now in exile — sparking widespread condemnation.

Wednesday’s ruling against Semilla prompted protests in Guatemala City and criticism at home and abroad.

Arevalo’s running mate Karin Herrera said Semilla was “a danger that they did not see coming.” Arevalo had featured at number eight in opinion polls ahead of the June vote.

The son of reformist former president Juan Jose Arevalo, the candidate on Thursday filed suit against Curruchiche, whom he accused of being “corrupt.”

In the first round of voting, former first lady Torres won 15.8 percent of the vote and Arevalo 11.7 percent, beating out 20 other candidates.

Eight rightwing parties challenged the June outcome, prompting a review of the count which was officially validated by Guatemala’s top electoral court on Wednesday.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)