Global Courant 2023-05-23 20:10:49
The Guatemalan Electoral Observation Mission (MOE-Gt) published on May 23 that it is concerned about the increasing judicialization of the electoral process in Guatemala and points out that the elections are: “the last prop of our democracy.”
In a statement released on May 23, the MOE-Gt explains that they view the course of the electoral process with great concern, which they consider to be immersed in irregularities and a growing judicialization, “which can lead to the total loss of integrity and legitimacy of what until now is the only thing that sustains our fragile Guatemalan democracy”.
The document indicates that the critical juncture in which the country finds itself, regardless of the result of the judicial resolutions still pending, “was avoidable and we have reached it due to the irresponsibility of political parties that do not adhere to the requirements of the laws and of electoral authorities that have failed to comply with their obligations”.
They affirm that in the current process they have seen the dysfunction of the entities in charge of guaranteeing the Rule of Law, defending the exercise of civil liberties and attending to the needs that allow the effective and efficient functioning of society.
The state is threatened
“The State of Guatemala is threatened by groups that are gradually undermining the foundations of the republic and of participatory democracy. Today it is redundant to talk about the political crisis that Guatemala is going through, because we find abundant evidence that the institutions set up to defend citizens have become a threat to them,” the statement read.
It adds that the MOE-Gt has repeatedly pointed out anomalies in which different instances of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) incur, such as errors in acquisitions, differentiated applications of criteria to accept or deny candidacies, administrative deficiencies that delay organizational actions and decisions that undermine against transparency and access to key information in a democratic electoral process.
Add that added to that, the impact it has on the increase in social conflict in the country.
“As MOE-Gt we alert society of the consequences that will have to resolve through the courts what in a democratic system is resolved in free, transparent, plural and competitive elections. Restricting these characteristics will destroy the last prop that sustains our fragile democracy,” the statement concluded.
