GUATEMALA CITY (AP) – Prosecutors in Guatemala asked a court on Friday to strip President-elect Bernardo Arévalo of his immunity, saying there could be enough irregularities to annul the election results, a move the Organization of American States (OAS) called part of “a coup attempt”.
It was the third time prosecutors have sought to lift Arévalo’s immunity since he won election in August, and the OAS said prosecutors were seeking to subvert “the will of the people” with a coup.
Arévalo is scheduled to take office on January 14, and it was unclear whether the prosecutors’ continued targeting of him and his party could interfere with the inauguration.
The most recent request from prosecutors cites alleged irregularities in the way Arévalo’s Seed Movement party gathered signatures to register years earlier, something previously raised by prosecutors just before electoral authorities confirmed Arévalo’s spot in the runoff after a first round of voting. At a news conference on Friday, prosecutors said there were alleged irregularities in some precinct vote tallies that could lead to the election results being annulled.
Special prosecutor against impunity Rafael Curruchiche said the Supreme Electoral Tribunal would have to resolve the situation. “All of the political parties and all of the candidates in all of the elections were affected here,” he said.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal responded almost immediately that the election results were inalterable. “The results are valid, certified, and the people (who won their races) are necessarily accredited and must take office January 14.
“If not, it would be a rupture of the constitutional order,” tribunal President Blanca Alfaro said.
