Global Courant
The intervention of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), the complaints from the political parties to request the comparison of records and the investigation into the electoral boards for acquiring an alternative system for counting votes, are situations never seen in an electoral process since the democratic era and that makes it a “mark for evil” in the country’s history, say members of electoral observatories.
After the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) delivered to the CSJ the report on the provisions of the provisional amparo that ordered repeat hearings to review scrutinies, it is in the hands of this body to validate what was reported and subsequently the TSE make official the results of the first electoral round.
However, for electoral observers, it is worrying that this process is in a phase of judicialization due to disagreements of political parties and distrust in the electoral boards.
“The way in which the Supreme Court of Justice is involved in political issues is unprecedented, it is a very sensitive issue, the court must resolve as soon as possible, it should be a normal process but we see situations that affect the course of a democratic process and that It could delay the constitutional moments for the second round,” says Eddy Cux, an analyst at Acción Ciudadana, an entity that is part of the Electoral Viewpoint.
“Now everything depends on what the TSE reported and the decision of the Supreme Court, with all this, the population is discontent, and they already manifested it with the null vote and abstentionism in the first round, let’s hope that this does not grow in the second ”, added the analyst.
no credibility
“We have never had a situation like the one we are currently experiencing, I hope I am wrong but it seems that everything is done to delay the second round process, it is worrying that the entire process depends on the CSJ when we have not had court elections in almost four years, that detracts from a lot of legitimacy and credibility in the actors of the justice sector”, says Jahir Dabroy, an analyst with the Association for Research and Social Studies.
Complaint
This week the MP asked the TSE for information on a contract signed by two electoral boards and the SEGA company for the acquisition of software that was not used on election day, confirming that it was not functional, a situation that also worries Dabroy, since It generates fear in those who participate voluntarily and many, possibly, will not participate in the second electoral round, if it is taken into account that for the review of minutes, as ordered by the CSJ, they had to extend the permits in their workplaces.
“In the end, they are citizens who have given up their time to support a democratic process, there are people who are concerned because they asked for a lot of work leave and that can even imply resignations, apart from that, it is worrying to see criminal complaints against the electoral boards because so, who will want to integrate them? Nobody wants to waste so much time in their work spaces, all this means a mark for bad in the history of the country”, says Dabroy.
Gustavo Berganza, a member of the Guatemala Electoral Observatory Mission (MOE-gt) says that the extent of judicialization in which the electoral process has reached is worrying, there has never been the level of appeals and trials that have been raised in these elections.
“The hope is that after the report rendered by the TSE, the CSJ will rule that what was requested of the TSE has been fulfilled and that the process of validation of results will begin so as not to delay the second round.”
What does the OAS say?
The Electoral Observation Mission (MOE) of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Guatemala issued a statement in which it expressed its concern about the attempt to continue prosecuting the electoral process and considers the tone in which the CSJ has addressed unnecessary the TSE as the entity in charge of conducting the electoral process.
“In democracy, respect between State institutions is fundamental. For the EOM/OAS it is extremely important to advance to the following stages. With the extension of the electoral process, irreparable days of the campaign are being deprived, which affects both the candidacies to be able to present the proposals, and the citizens to cast a more informed vote. The OAS Mission recommends that the authorities conclude this phase, summon those who obtained the first and second place for the presidential election to the second round, and assign the other positions that were elected, ”he emphasized.
