( Spanish) — In Guatemala, the head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), Rafael Curruchiche, reported Wednesday that the Seventh Court of Criminal Instance ordered the suspension of the legal status of the political party Movimiento Semilla.
In a video posted on the Twitter account of the Guatemalan Public Ministry, Curruchiche explains that they are investigating Movimiento Semilla for the alleged falsification of citizen signatures for the party’s authorization process before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
“There are indications that possibly more than 5,000 citizens were illegally adhered to the Seed Movement by falsifying their handwriting and signature. In addition, the signature and footprint of a person was placed on several citizens,” Curruchiche says in the video.
consulted Movimiento Semilla for its comments. The response was a promise to “give all the information as soon as possible,” as well as the position of Bernardo Arévalo, the party’s candidate for the country’s presidency. According to Movimiento Semilla, Arévalo had already reported the case to the Public Ministry, but it had not been investigated.
Guatemalan presidential candidate for the Movimiento Semilla party, Bernardo Arévalo, arrives at the Constitutional Court in Guatemala City on July 2, 2023. (Photo by Orlando ESTRADA/AFP) (Photo by ORLANDO ESTRADA/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Curruchiche, the FECI investigation established that at least 12 deceased people had been registered by Movimiento Semilla. The head of the FECI maintains in the video that the party paid a total of approximately US$22,000 in exchange for signatures with the aim of reaching the minimum necessary to become a political party and participate in elections.
The investigation into this case began, according to the authorities, due to a complaint by a person in May 2022.
Arevalo told on July 7 that he feared he would be left out of the presidential race. “What is being done is to create a waiting period to open up the possibility of some type of spurious, legal action being carried out, such as the actions that were used to remove Thelma Cabrera, Roberto Arzú and Carlos Pineda from the competition” the candidate then said.
Arévalo obtained second place in the elections, according to the preliminary count, for which he would face Sandra Torres, from the National Unity of Hope party, on August 20. However, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal has not yet made the results official.
This is developing information.
