• Latin America A Guatemalan Court Orders the Suspension of the Semilla Party whose candidate, Bernardo Arévalo de León, aspires to the Presidency of the country

The Constitutional Court of Guatemala, the highest court of the Central American country, on Thursday annulled a criminal ruling that ordered the suspension of the political party Semilla and its removal from the electoral contest.

The decision of the Constitutional Court was at the request of Semillas' lawyers and opens the way for the participation of its candidate, Bernardo Arévalo de León, in the second round of elections on August 20, against former first lady Sandra Torres Casanova.

The court's measure nullifies a criminal order released on Wednesday by the Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor's Office) to suspend Semilla, in an action cataloged by various sectors as an "electoral coup."

Torres Casanova won the June 25 election with the conservative National Unity of Hope group, while Arevalo de Leon came a surprise second with the social democratic Seed Movement party.

The Constitutional Court indicated in a press release that it protects Semilla's request, made in the last hours, in which they warned about "the threat that hangs over the electoral process."

According to the statement, the investigation against Semilla by the Public Ministry "does not affect or suspend" the participation of the political group in the elections and in the second round of elections on August 20.

Minutes before the Constitutional Court's decision, the Guatemalan Supreme Electoral Tribunal had also announced that it would not take into account the request of the Public Ministry, endorsed by a criminal judge.

That is why Semilla and Arévalo de León will participate in the second round and the results will also be valid in other areas of the June 25 elections, since the social democratic group won 23 of the 160 seats in Congress.

THE INVESTIGATION OF THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

On Wednesday, in an unprecedented decision, the Public Ministry announced that a criminal judge had endorsed the suspension of the Seed Movement, for an alleged corruption case, 38 days before the second round.

In the same sense, the same Public Ministry raided this Thursday morning the section of the Registry of Citizens of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

However, the magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal have not taken into account the determination of the criminal court, since they recalled that to expel or suspend a political party a detailed procedure must be made in the Electoral and Political Parties Law.

The legal dispute between the Public Ministry and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal has generated an atmosphere of uncertainty in the Central American country since Wednesday, when both pronounced on the elections minutes apart.

However, the decision of the Constitutional Court makes the picture even clearer, with both candidates seeking to replace the current Guatemalan president, Alejandro Giammattei, as of January 14.

The Seed Movement was born from the anti-corruption demonstrations in the Central American country during 2015 and among its principles is social justice and the end of impunity in the Central American nation.

The investigation against Semilla is in charge of prosecutor and section chief Rafael Curruchiche, sanctioned by the United States in 2022 on charges of creating false cases against former authorities.

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