OAS warns Guatemala attorney general breaching constitutional rights News
WilliamCho / Pixabay
OAS warns Guatemala attorney general breaching constitutional rights

The Organization of American States (OAS) on Friday condemned the actions of Guatemala’s attorney general regarding delays and claims of fraud concerning recent election results within the region. In the period following the election, five raids were conducted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. OAS argues that the attorney general’s actions are unconstitutional and part of a broader “intimidation” tactic to “sow doubts about the electoral process.”

The statement came from the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the OAS, which has reported numerous breaches of constitutional rights in the region and abuses of power. It followed earlier appeals from the OAS in June 2023, where they urged officials to progress the election process.

This follows the election of Bernardo Arévalo as president of Guatemala in August 2023. At the time, his campaign was challenged by Guatemala’s top prosecutor. However, as Reuters reported, “that move boomeranged, propelling Arévalo’s name further into the headlines and prompting an outpouring of support from across the political spectrum.”

The OAS claims that the raids by the Public Prosecutor’s Office were carried out unlawfully and without due cause and included a raid on the Supreme Electoral Tribunal’s headquarters. The OAS also alleged that recently, judicial appeals and petitions have been denied by the Public Prosecutor’s Office amid reports of fraud and abuse of authority. The OAS/EOM warned:

… this permanent siege without grounds or clear motivation by the [Public Prosecutor’s Office] constitutes a political persecution reminiscent of those carried out by authoritarian regimes. An attack of this nature is unprecedented in electoral observations in recent decades and constitutes a shameful example for the hemisphere. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has chosen to ignore the numerous calls from the international community and its behavior violates democratic standards.

Concluding their statement, the OAS warned, “The actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office are an intolerable violation of Guatemala’s Constitution.”

THIS DAY @ LAW

Ku Klux Klan founded

The US hate group known as the Ku Klux Klan was founded on December 24, 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee as a reaction to reconstruction efforts following the Union victory in the American Civil War. The group would later become notorious for its attacks on Black Americans, being targeted by the Enforcement Act of 1871, which imposed civil and criminal liability for deprivation of constitutional rights. Read the Enforcement Act of 1871.  

Hamid Karzai born

On December 24, 1957, Hamid Karzai was born in Karz, Afghanistan. He would go on to become in 2004 his country's first elected president after the end of Taliban rule in 2001.