Guatemalan Justice The legal personality of the Movimiento Semilla party, which came second in the presidential election, was suspended this Wednesday. It was held on June 25.
Special prosecutor for the fight against impunity, Rafael Curruchiche, reported that the seventh criminal court decided to suspend the formation at the request of the prosecutor’s office due to a citizen’s complaint. registered with the party illegally. “There are indications that More than 5,000 citizens joined the Seed Movement by signing. In addition, a person’s signature and fingerprint were affixed to various citizens. (…) “There are anonymous signatures and altered pages,” said Curruchiche, who was sanctioned by the United States in 2022. accused of creating false cases against the authorities.
In the defense of the Tohum Movement, the prosecutor stated that he accused the citizen in question by presenting a copy of the list of the members participating in the formation. As Curruchiche explained, the political party would have committed money laundering or other asset laundering since it had paid about 175,000 Guatemalan quetzale (about 20,200 euros) for the signatures it needed to get itself accepted.
According to La Hora newspaper Movimiento Semilla, “Given the unusual but predictable news, please point out that we are reviewing the case with the legal team and will notify you as soon as possible.”
Karin Herrera, the ‘number two’ of the party, said: “These barriers were placed by the same as always”: “But we also know that doubts have been cleared, what we are sure is that we have your support and support,” he posted on his profile on the social network Twitter. “The will of the citizens must be respected,” said the biologist chemist, who was a companion in Arévalo de León’s candidacy.
When the news was published, Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) judges were meeting in their headquarters where the protesters had gathered. with the slogans of “coup”. Bernardo Arévalo, the candidate of the left-wing party in Guatemala, surprised by placing second to one of the election favourites, Sandra Torres from the National Union of Hope (UNE). Polls have placed the Seed Movement, one of the few left-wing choices out of the twenty proposals presented, between the seventh and eighth choices for voters.
Arévalo assured that “the powerful no longer want the people to freely decide their own future”. “This is not for us or for Semilla, it’s for the whole country. The powerful no longer want the people to decide their own future freely, but we will defeat them,” he said in a message posted on his communication channels. “The seeds of change and hope will not be trampled on,” said the 64-year-old academic, who was second to former First Lady Sandra Torres in the June 25 presidential election.
According to the criminal court’s decision in the local press, the Supreme Electoral Court has 24 hours to comply with the decision regarding the suspension of Semilla, otherwise she could be charged with violating the law. However, in the opinion of other experts on constitutional and electoral issues, the Guatemalan election regulation also determines: no party can be canceled while the elections continue and that the body is independent.
“Election Coup Attempt”
Various social organizations in Guatemala denounced that it is now “consumed” an “attempt” “election coup”. In a press release, the parties stated that the decision to dismiss Semilla was “illegal” and urged the Supreme Election Court to “ignore” the judicial decision. Organizations that signed the press release are Transparency International, Citizens’ Action and the Network of National Commissions, and Citizens’ Collectives for Transparency and Integrity, among others.