Electoral Body of Guatemala Condemns Raid Against It

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Guatemala stated that the proceedings carried out by the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity (FECI) in its Human Resources offices and against the person in charge of the Registry of Citizens, Eleonora Castillo, are not "coherent or consistent".

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Through a communiqué, the TSE pointed out that these actions "provoke an adverse environment to legality" and that, as an electoral body, it demands "respect, as well as to guarantee the fundamental principles of due process, the presumption of innocence and the right to defense."

In reference to the actions of the FECI, belonging to the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP), the Electoral Supreme urged "strict compliance with the laws and respect for the hierarchies of the Constitution and the Electoral and Political Parties Law."

The Guatemalan prosecutor's office raided this Thursday, for the second time, the TSE headquarters in search of evidence and records of the entity's personnel, as well as requested an arrest warrant against Eleonora Noemí Castillo Pinzón, who heads the Citizen Registry, for allegedly failing to comply with a court order.

Castillo is charged with the crime of "obstruction of justice" for not having complied with the order of the judge of first instance, Fredy Orellana, who intended to cancel the party Movimiento Semilla, which will compete in the ballot of next August 20.

The accused had informed the Prosecutor's Office that the decision to deny the cancellation of this political grouping, which nominates the progressive Bernardo Arévalo De León, who will dispute the presidency against the right-wing candidate Sandra Torres, was maintained.