Guatemala Election Watch #3

Electoral re-count re-confirms Semilla Movement Party success in first round of Presidential Election


As reported last week, the U.S. and Canadian-backed ‘Covenant of the Corrupt’ regime in Guatemala tried to nullify the results of the first round of elections (June 25) that saw the Semilla Movement Party get the 2nd most votes, and qualify for the August 20 runoff election.
 
The Constitutional Court improperly suspended the electoral process, and ordered a re-count based on allegations of fraud filed by 9 other political parties in collaboration.
 
Last week, the TSE (Supreme Electoral Tribunal) carried out the re-count, and re-confirmed the June 25 results, even awarding the Semilla Movement Party a few thousands more votes.

Guatemalan Elite Tries to Overturn Democracy, But Anti-Corruption Candidate to Stay in Runoff Election, Democracy Now, July 7, 2023, https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/7/guatemala_election

Now, Silvia Valdes – president of the Organismo Judicial of the Supreme Court of Justice – has illegally ordered that the electoral suspension order remain in place!
 
Protesters are in the streets daily. The Semilla Party, and others, are bringing new legal challenges against the Organismo Judicial for this corrupted ‘lawfare’ manouever.
 
What other corrupt tactics will the ‘Covenant-of-the-Corrupt’ economic-political-military elites use to prevent Semilla Movement Party from its now expected victory in the runoff vote?
 
Might they resort to violence, if their corrupted ‘lawfare’ tactics fail?
 
Stay tuned.


Recent Background
 
Guatemala Election Watch #1 – July 2, 2023
Real democracy in Guatemala? Semilla Party now favored to win Presidential election on August 20
https://mailchi.mp/rightsaction/real-democracy-in-guatemala-1
 
Guatemala Election Watch #2 – July 3, 2023
Is the electoral fraud fix in, in Guatemala? ‘Covenant of the Corrupt’ regime weaponizing legal system to attack Semilla Party electoral results
https://mailchi.mp/rightsaction/is-the-electoral-fraud-fix-in-in-guatemala
 
U.S.-Canadian foreign policy issue
Whether these elections are allowed to proceed properly through to the August 20 runoff vote is a U.S. and Canadian foreign policy issue. For decades, the U.S., Canada, E.U., World Bank, IMF, etc., have maintained full political, economic and military relations with ‘open-for-global-business’ regimes in Guatemala, turning a blind eye to systemic repression and corruption, environmental destruction, human rights violations and exploitation.
 
Pretty much ever since the U.S.-coup in 1954 ousted Guatemala’s last actually democratic government, there have been corrupted, anti-democratic elections every four years, that offer no change whatsoever to this status quo.
 
Now, for the first time since 1954, a significant percentage of the embattled population voted for a real democratic alternative and change.
 
How will the U.S., Canada and so-called “international community” react when the Guatemala people oust their long-time ‘open-for-global-business’ allies?
 
How will the North American main stream media report on the unfolding drama related to what are arguably the first actually democratic elections in Guatemala since 1951?


Movimiento Semilla party
www.moviemientosemilla.gt
Facebook: MovimientoSemilla
Twitter: @semillagt
 
Rights Action archives
Elections and no democracy in Guatemala
https://rightsaction.org/election-archives
  
TESTIMONIO-Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala
Co-edited by Catherine Nolin & Grahame Russell
https://www.testimoniothebook.org
https://btlbooks.com/book/testimonio