The Constitutional Court, Guatemala’s highest court, This Wednesday, Congress provisionally granted a legal challenge to last Sunday’s election of the new executive committeeIt is chaired by MP Samuel Pérez Álvarez from the official tribune.
In a statement, the court said it approved the appeal filed by Representative Sandra Jovel, who lost the Congressional presidential election on Sunday and claimed that lawmakers from the official group, the Semilla Movement, were legally suspended from office.
Pérez Álvarez won choice He won the presidency with a total of 92 votes out of 160 seats. The constituents of the Guatemalan Parliament, which took office on the same Sunday. The victory of the Semilla Movement MP, identical to recently inaugurated president Bernardo Arévalo de León, came as a surprise since the group had only 23 MPs. The losing list, which received only 75 votes, was the representative of Jovel of the Valor party, former presidential candidate Zury Ríos and current president Alejandro Giammattei (2020-2024) in alliance with the political group Vamos.
A controversial suspension
According to Jovel, the suspension of Semilla Movement deputies stems from the July 12 criminal order issued by Judge Fredy Orellana, who was indicted by the United States Department of State. undermine justice and corruption
The criminal case filed against Orellana arises from allegations of forging signatures in the founding of the Semilla Movement in 2018, which Arévalo de León personally reported in the first half of 2023. Since Arévalo de León took second place in the first return, following the presidential elections in June 2023, the Guatemalan Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) and groups affiliated with Giammattei launched a campaign. Judicial pursuit to prevent 65-year-old academic from taking ownershipLike the MPs of the Semilla Movement.
The appointment of Arévalo de León was squarely in the hands of Congress president Samuel Pérez Álvarez at dawn last Monday. According to the Constitutional Court, Pérez Álvarez’s appointment to Arévalo de León is the only act of his presidency (two days) that should not be reversed.
Guatemala has experienced in recent months Moments of intense tension due to “coup” attemptsAs Arévalo de León noted last September.