July 09, 2023 at 02:21AM
The certification process for Guatemala’s first-round presidential election has encountered yet another setback as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Silvia Valdés Quezada, issued a surprising order to block the certification. This move has raised concerns and cast doubt on the electoral process.
While experts question the legitimacy of the order, it remains pivotal to ensure transparency and address any potential inconsistencies. This blog post will delve into the details surrounding this unprecedented development and its implications for Guatemala’s political landscape.
Late on Friday, Chief Justice Valdés Quezada mandated that the certification could not proceed until the electoral authorities completed a review of vote tally sheets from the June 25 election, reporting back to her within 12 hours. The aim was to investigate the methods used and highlight any discrepancies found, albeit the observed irregularities were deemed insufficient to alter the election results.
What struck experts as peculiar was that Valdés Quezada was the sole justice to sign the order, deviating from the customary practice that requires the endorsement of all 13 justices.
The order’s implications lay heavily on the two leading candidates, Sandra Torres and Bernardo Arévalo. If the re-examination confirms their positions as the two highest vote-getters, this outcome would likely solidify their advancement to the run-off election scheduled for August 20th.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal already declared that the preliminary results published on June 25th remained valid, emphasizing the crucial need for political parties to accept the people’s will expressed through the election.
Edie Cux, director of local chapter nongovernmental organization Transparency International, stressed that the election tribunal must now endorse the conclusions drawn from the review process.
The review covered tally sheets from 152 polling stations out of over 122,000 stations, with minimal changes recorded. As the review phase nears completion, the electoral tribunal aims to certify the results in the coming week, making necessary adjustments to reflect the challenged tallies.
Following the June 25th elections, the announcement of vote tallies was swiftly overshadowed by the Constitutional Court’s suspension of the certification of official results. This injunction was granted after 10 parties, one of which later withdrew, raised concerns regarding their suspicions of vote manipulation.
Consequently, the matter now rests with the Supreme Court of Justice, which has been entrusted with handling the case appointed by the Constitutional Court.
Bernardo Arévalo, representing the progressive Seed Movement party, emerged as a surprise contender, having not featured prominently in pre-election polls. Sandra Torres, on the other hand, is making her third bid for the presidency as the candidate for the conservative UNE party.
The court challenge and subsequent uncertainties have fueled speculation about potential attempts to invalidate the results of the June 25th elections.
In response to the ongoing developments, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement endorsing the conclusions drawn by various domestic and international election observation groups. These groups found that the published results of Guatemala’s highly observed election aligned with their own observations across the country.
Furthermore, the statement expressed the United States’ support for the Guatemalan people’s constitutional right to free and fair elections, while emphasizing concerns over any efforts that hinder the election result.
The recent order by Chief Justice Silvia Valdés Quezada to block the certification of Guatemala’s first-round presidential election results has sparked controversy and uncertainty. With the upcoming run-off election looming, it is crucial for the electoral process to regain its credibility and address any inconsistencies that may arise.
The nation awaits the electoral tribunal’s certification of the results, hoping for a smooth transition to the next phase of the election process while preserving the constitutional right of the Guatemalan people to elect their leaders in a fair and transparent manner.
The post “Uncertainty Surrounds Certification of Guatemala’s Presidential Election Results” first appeared on the European News Global.
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