Guatemalan presidential candidate calls for runoff election to be declared amid fraud allegations
Guatemalan presidential candidate Bernardo Arévalo, representing the center-left party Movimiento Semilla, has called for the official declaration of a runoff election in the country.
This comes after the Constitutional Court ordered the collation of records, which confirms the preliminary results of the June 25 elections.
Arévalo expressed his vigilance and supported his party’s prosecutors overseeing the process, citing concerns about possible fraudulent activities.
According to Prensa Libre newspaper, with 83% of the hearings completed, the initial results from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on the night of the elections, which indicated a second round between Arévalo and former first lady Sandra Torres of the conservative party National Unity of Hope (UNE), remain unchanged.
Arévalo stated that the collation process had confirmed the June 25 result in all the concluded departments, with some even revealing previously disregarded votes.
The hearings are currently being held at the Parque de Industria, where they have been under the protection of a strong police presence since Sunday.
The Constitutional Court approved the review hearings in response to requests from nine political parties, who alleged anomalies in the handwritten minutes of the elections.
As a result, the official announcement of the election results has been temporarily suspended.
The Electoral Observation Mission of Guatemala expressed concern about tensions during some of the hearings, where party prosecutors reportedly insulted and intimidated members of the electoral boards.
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