The elected president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arevalo de Leonrejected this Monday the decision of the Registry of Citizens of suspend the Seed Movement party with which he won the elections and announced legal measures to reverse this measure.
“It is a illegal resolution for the judicial persecution headed by the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) and the seventh criminal judge Fredy Orellana”, declared Arévalo de León, during a press conference offered tonight in Guatemala City.
Arévalo de León assured that he is confident that the resolution that suspends his party “it is null and void” and that “it will fall off by itself”. In addition, the vice president-elect, Karin Herrera, announced that Semilla’s legal team will present tomorrow a appeal for nullity to stop the suspension of political organization.
The reaction of the presidential binomial, elected for the period 2024-2028, occurred after this afternoon the Registry of Citizens of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal decided to provisionally cancel their party at the request of Judge Orellana.
The request for suspension had been extended since July 12 by a alleged case of false signatures that would have been committed during the creation of the party in 2018, investigated by prosecutors sanctioned by the United States Department of State.
Arévalo de León added that the suspension “has no validity” and that “only the Supreme Electoral Tribunal can order it.”
Arévalo de León added that the suspension “has no validity” due to the fact that according to the electoral law “only the Supreme Electoral Tribunal can order the suspension and under the established legal precepts”.
On the other hand, the president-elect described as “historic” that the magistrates of the electoral court ratified the results expressed at the polls on August 20, which certify them as the country’s new rulers.
“Nothing can legally prevent us from taking possession on January 14, 2024 as established in the constitution,” Arévalo de León pointed out.
According to the vision of political analysts and Guatemalan law itself, the “provisional” suspension of the Seed Movement could give way to problems for his deputies to reach Congress and already within Parliament they could have problems to perform some functions.
In the next few days, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal must enter to know the suspension to define if it is ratified or loses its validity.
