Guatemala’s Prosecutor’s Office searches electoral tribunal’s office for third time
Guatemala City, Sep 12 (EFE) – Three weeks after the victory of president-elect Bernardo Arévalo de León, Guatemalan prosecutors searched the headquarters of the Central American country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal for the third time on Tuesday.
The action of the Public Prosecutor’s Office took place at the Civil Registry Department of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, as confirmed by David de León, spokesman of the Tribunal.
The judicial proceeding occured while the Secretary of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, remains in Guatemala to verify the electoral transition process after Arevalo de Leon’s victory on August 20.
The Attorney General’s Office also confirmed that it is searching the Center of Operations of the Electoral Process (COPE) in western Guatemala City to “obtain evidence to strengthen the investigation,” where the ballots from the June 25 and August 20 elections are stored.
Since July 12, the Prosecutor’s Office, led by Attorney General Consuelo Porras, sanctioned for corruption by the US, has investigated the Seed Movement, party of President-elect Arévalo de León, for an alleged case of false signatures committed in 2018.
During the last two months, the Prosecutor’s Office had already raided the Supreme Electoral Tribunal’s headquarters and Semilla’s headquarters to subtract information related to the electoral process and the creation process of Arévalo de León’s party.
According to the electoral tribunal, the Prosecutor’s Office has not presented arrest warrants against public officials. The proceeding is in charge of prosecutor Cinthia Monterroso, who was included in the Engel List of corrupt actors by the US State Department.
Arévalo de León, 64 years old, warned on September 1 that there was an ongoing plan to carry out a coup to prevent him from taking office on January 14. He pointed out Consuelo Porras to be in charge of these actions.
On Monday, the process of transition of power between the current president, Alejandro Giammattei, and his successor, Arévalo de León, advanced under the observation of the OAS, Luis Almagro.
The President-elect expressed his gratitude for the transition procedure but called for a halt to “the persecution against the new authorities” by State institutions where “there is still no democratic clarity.”
The change of government is scheduled for January 14, Arévalo de Leon’s will be the first social democratic leader in the history of a in Guatemala. EFE
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