U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently expressed concern over election result inference with regards to the 2023 Guatemalan Presidential Election.
He noted the U.S. supports the constitutional right of the Guatemalan people to choose their leaders through a free and fair election process, according to a July 2 State Department news release. He said the U.S. is "deeply concerned" about the reported efforts to interfere with the July 25 election results.
“Actions to interfere with the election result violate the spirit of Guatemala's constitution and threaten the legitimacy of its democratic process,” Blinken said in the release.
AP News reported Guatemala's Constitutional Court suspended the release of the official election results and granted a temporary injunction to 10 parties that challenged the results. The court reportedly aims to ensure the tallies in the electoral system match with those from the polling places.
The concerns surrounding the election have been compounded by allegations of irregularities and corruption. According to Al Jazeera, Guatemala's Constitutional Court had previously blocked the candidacy of three major presidential candidates due to alleged paperwork irregularities.
These lingering questions of corruption have cast a shadow over the electoral process, prompting the Guatemalan people to express their discontent, Al Jazeera reported. In a symbolic gathering in the Constitutional Plaza of Guatemala City, Bernardo Arévalo and the Seed Movement celebrated their electoral victories.
This plaza had gained significance in 2015 when thousands of Guatemalans congregated there to protest official corruption, according to Al Jazeera.
“The United States endorses the conclusions of the numerous Guatemalan organizations representing the private sector and civil society observation missions as well as international observation missions, including the Organization of American States and the European Union, which found that the published results in Guatemala's most highly observed election matched with their observations across the country,” Blinken said in the State Department release. “Undermining the June 25 election would be a grave threat to democracy with far-reaching implications.”
