WASHINGTON, USA – The Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the Organization of American States (OAS), headed by former foreign minister of Paraguay Eladio Loizaga, strongly rejects the new raid carried out on Thursday at one of the headquarters of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), as well as the one carried out on Friday at the headquarters of the Semilla Party.
Once again, the OAS/EOM condemns the political persecution of public officials and party activists by State entities, violating minimum guarantees for citizens, ignoring the presumption of innocence and due process. The foregoing could constitute serious violations of the fundamental rights enshrined in national legislation, the Constitution of the Republic, and international instruments.
These actions, carried out by both the Judiciary and the public ministry, are hindering the natural course of the electoral process to the detriment of an entire nation that wants to express itself freely at the polls.
The OAS/EOM reiterates, once again, its concern regarding the remainder of the development of this electoral process. The lack of legal certainty is worrisome, as is the possibility of the arbitrary disqualification of any of the options that emanated from the vote on June 25, the effects of criminal investigations into partisan militants, and the polarization that has deepened in recent days with the latest events.
The future of Guatemala’s democracy can only be defined at the polls.
