President of the electoral court of Guatemala: “The custody of the vote was broken”

The president of Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala, Irma Palenciaassured this Tuesday that “custody of the vote was broken“, after the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) decided to open several electoral boxes and review the ballots outside the parameters indicated by the law.

Judge Palencia warned that with the actions of the Prosecutor’s Office “They are no longer responsible for the vote” and that the intervention “It is serious and puts the electoral process at risk”.

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The words of the highest electoral authority of Guatemala They were recorded at a press conference, after the Prosecutor’s Office decided to intervene at least 160 electoral boxes, where the votes cast by thousands of Guatemalans on June 25 were stored.

Palencia described as “grotesque” the action of the Prosecutor’s Office and recalled that the electoral results have already been made official so “in no way can they be invalidated” since the public positions won at the polls have already been awarded.

He Supreme Electoral Tribunal He recalled that according to article 243 of the electoral law, only electoral boards, composed of citizens, can count the votes.

Furthermore, the magistrate Gabriel Aguilera He assured that the electoral court does not have access to the investigation with which the Prosecutor’s Office justified access to the votes.

The raid of the Prosecutor’s Office was led by the prosecutor Rafael Curruchichewho was sanctioned in 2022 for USA under accusations of corruption and undermining of Justice.

The electoral boxes that were intercepted contain the votes cast for the election of the president, deputies and municipal mayors and according to the Prosecutor’s Office the diligence will continue the rest of the week.

MORE INFORMATION: Guatemala: Electoral Court temporarily suspends disqualification of Arévalo’s party

Since the progressive academic Bernardo Arévalo de Leónnow president-elect of Guatemala, advanced to the runoff, the Prosecutor’s Office and the criminal judge Freddy Orellana took legal action to try to cancel their party, the Seed Movementfor an alleged case of false signatures during its creation process.

According to President Palencia, the electoral court will take legal action against the Prosecutor’s Office for violating the chain of custody of the vote.

On January 14, Arévalo de León must assume the presidency of Guatemala for the period 2024-2028 and will become the country’s first social democratic leader.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.