EU observers make harsh remarks about the elections

The last presidential elections on Sunday in Guatemala received harsh criticism from the European Union Electoral Observation Mission (EU-Guatemala MOE) for pointing out violations of the rule of law and the “arbitrary application” of the legal framework in them, among others.

“Controversial decisions of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), the judiciary and the Constitutional Court (CC) led to an unprecedented number of candidates and excluded lists, limiting the right to be elected of some participants, also considering that they reduced the real competition”, indicated the Mission in a statement preliminary on Tuesday.

After a first round, the invalid vote was the first option for voters. The candidate Sandra Torres for Unión Nacional Esperanza and Bernardo Arévalo for Semilla, they will be the contenders for the elections in the second roundto be held on August 20 of the present.

The EOM also noted that the high number of 22 presidential candidates, initially registered by 28 political parties, demonstrated “the lack of solid ties between the candidates and the political parties.”

The TSE’s decision not to allow the registration of candidates who would probably campaign in advance was also questioned by the observer body for restricting free expression and reducing the framework for public debates.

“There have been decisions by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of the judiciary and the Constitutional Court on the registration of candidacies that have limited the right to be elected of some participants,” said the head of mission, Jordi Cañas, in the preliminary summary.

The European observer mission had 122 observers from all the EU countries, whose main leader was the Venezuelan activist Leopoldo López Gil, exiled in Spain. The mission praised the serious “commitment to democracy and civic values” on the part of the electorate of the Central American nation.

On this occasion, with 12 rejected applications, the TSE doubled the number of refusals in 2019, mainly the complete list of the Prosperidad Ciudadana political agreement and some of PODER.

“Most of the parties and candidates mentioned that the lack of separation of powers and the gradual elimination of checks and balances have led to the cooptation of institutions and judicialization for political and electoral purposes,” concluded the MOE-Guatemala.

However, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said that “the general elections held this June 25 are a success”, thus highlighting both citizen participation and those who officiated at all levels for the celebration of the elections.

The main magistrate of the TSE, Irma Elizabeth Palencia Orellana and her closest collaborators, when cited in a statement of the entity on Monday, thanked the members of the Temporary Electoral Bodies so that “the 2023 general elections would take place safely and transparently.”

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