MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2023) Guatemala's Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity (FECI) and police are searching the headquarters of the Semilla Movement party and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) as a part of the ongoing investigation into the party's alleged forging of signatures during its registration and illegally financing this process, FECI said Friday.
"The Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity (FECI), in coordination with the National Civil Police, is searching the headquarters of the Semilla Movement party in compliance with the court order of July 12, 2023. The proceedings are being carried out to obtain evidence to strengthen the investigation, respecting the Constitutional Court's decision on provisional protection," FECI tweeted.
Guatemala's law enforcement is also searching the offices of TSE for the second day as part of an investigation into the alleged fraudulent registration of Semilla. The day before, prosecutors requested an arrest warrant for the interim head of the electoral court, Eleonora Castillo, "for obstruction of justice."
TSE on Friday denounced the "disproportionate, intimidating and excessive forceful actions taken by various authorities" and vowed to provide legal defense to all officials and court staff.
The Electoral Observation Mission of Guatemala slammed the actions of the prosecutor's office and the criminal court as intimidation of TSE, which threatened its independence and contravened the rulings of the constitutional court.
"The mission insists that the institutionality of the electoral regime must be respected as it protects the will of citizens and warns of the disastrous consequences of the actions taken by FECI against TSE and the Semilla Movement party for electoral democracy, preventing a free runoff of the presidential election," the mission said in a communique on Twitter.
On July 13, TSE recognized the results of the June presidential election and announced that Former Guatemalan First Lady and presidential candidate Sandra Julieta Torres Casanova and Bernardo Arevalo, the leader of the Semilla Movement party, entered the second round of voting, scheduled for August 20. The court added that the final turnout was 5.56 million people, or about 60% of the total electorate, and that the National Unity of Hope received 888,924 votes and the Semilla Movement - 653,486 votes.
An hour before the publication of the results of the first round of the presidential election, the Seventh Criminal Court of Guatemala, at the request of the prosecutor's office, temporarily deprived the Semilla Movement of its legal status. The party is reportedly suspected of forging signatures during its registration and illegally financing this process. The party filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court the next day to overturn the ruling and against the judge who made the decision.
On July 14, TSE also granted temporary protection to the Semilla Movement, whose registration had been suspended the previous day at the request of the prosecutor's office, so that the election process in the country could continue.
