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Statement from the OAS Electoral Mission in Guatemala on the New Raid on the TSE and the Request to Withdraw Immunity from Judges of the Court

The Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Guatemala views with great concern the new raid carried out at the headquarters of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) in Guatemala City, and the request for the lifting of immunity requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) against the regular and alternate judges of the TSE for the alleged commission of crimes of fraud, breach of duties and abuse of authority.

Today's raid is the fifth operation conducted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office after the elections, and was carried out without due cause, violating the functions, independence and autonomy of the electoral body. For the OAS/EOM, this permanent siege without grounds or clear motivation by the MP constitutes a political persecution reminiscent of those carried out by authoritarian regimes. An attack of this nature is unprecedented in electoral observations in recent decades and constitutes a shameful example for the hemisphere. The Public Prosecutor's Office has chosen to ignore the numerous calls from the international community and its behavior violates democratic standards.

For the OAS Mission, from the information obtained by the TSE, the current actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in which original documents of Acts 4 and 8 of the elections are being confiscated, where TSE officials are not being allowed to communicate, nor audiovisual recordings of the operation taken, violates the Guatemalan legal regime. Additionally, the corresponding court orders have not been shown to the relevant persons, which constitutes a series of very serious breaches of due process and constitutes an obvious abuse of power and a violation of constitutional rights and the law of political parties.

Furthermore, the OAS/EOM considers that the MP has exercised extreme abuse of the use of the reserve mechanism by the MP in order to withhold the necessary information from the parties to the investigation, violating the right to due process and he right to defense. In this regard, the Mission is concerned that all judicial petitions and appeals presented by the TSE and its officials have been denied without examining the merits of the case and calls for the full rights to justice for Guatemalans and their institutions to be guaranteed.
Once again, the EOM considers that the MP is engaging in intimidating practices and attempting to sow doubts about the electoral process and the results of the popular will expressed unequivocally at the ballot box in both electoral rounds.

With his irresponsible actions, Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche is flagrantly violating the sovereignty of the Guatemalan people. It is crucial to remember that sovereignty is embodied in the popular will already expressed at the ballot box. Defiling electoral materials is an extremely serious offense that entails legal responsibilities for which there should be consequences.

Regarding the accusations of alleged abuses of power by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the EOM recognizes the competencies of the TSE that grant it the power to execute contracts during electoral periods, and thus comply with its constitutional duties. Likewise, the EOM reminds that the Preliminary Results Transmission System (TREP) was supervised and monitored by the political parties and that the TREP is a non-binding quick count mechanism that does not usurp any type of competencies of the TSE since, by mandate of the law, the Vote Receiving Boards (JRV) are in charge of tallying and recording the votes.

As stated in its preliminary reports, the OAS Mission found that the TREP functioned properly, with a constant and uninterrupted flow of tally sheets during the night and early morning following the election. The Mission confirmed and reaffirmed that the results produced by the TREP coincided with those gathered by the OAS/EOM and by national observation. At no time during the elections or in the days following, did the Mission observe or receive evidence that would call into question the integrity of the process or the order of the preferences that emerged from the ballot boxes. For these reasons, the EOM considers that the slanderous accusation of fraud by the MP is unfounded and does not contribute to the certainty of the electoral process.

The EOM has exhaustively analyzed the complaints about the electoral process and confirms once again that there are no elements that cast doubt on the electoral results presented by the TSE.

The OAS electoral mission, which was invited to observe by the TSE and the Government of Guatemala, is there to guarantee respect for the will of the people and not to support violations by Guatemalan institutions of the freely expressed will of the Guatemalan people.

The OAS Electoral Observation Mission considers that the artificial fabrication of crimes and accusations is a very serious act on the part of the MP and its prosecutors, which contradicts its nature as defender of the constitution and Guatemalan society. The actions taken, constitute numerous violations of the Guatemalan constitutional regime and of the international treaties to which Guatemala is a party.

The actions of the Public Prosecutor's Office are an intolerable violation of Guatemala's Constitution, which holds that it is up to the citizenry to determine who holds the reins of the country's Executive Branch. With its actions, the Public Prosecutor's Office is altering the constitutional order, a situation that is of extreme concern to the OAS Electoral Observation Mission.

Reference: E-061/23