Guatemala elections: Constitutional Court suspends first round results until further notice

The results of the first round of the elections in Guatemala have been suspended. The country's Constitutional Court made the decision this Sunday when it endorsed an appeal filed by nine parties that participated in the June 25 elections. The lawsuit requests that the voting records be reviewed once again before the results are made official.

Among the parties that filed the appeal is Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE), which was expected to participate in the second round of the elections. Now, by order of the Constitutional Court, the country's electoral boards must recount the votes before August 20. The Court expects to review the results but not to further alter the election deadlines in order to "guarantee that the alternation in the exercise of power is carried out on the date foreseen in the Political Constitution." The change of president would then be scheduled to take place on January 14, 2024.

Close to two million Guatemalans voted in the elections on June 25. Sandra Torres Casanova, from the UNE part, and Bernardo Arévalo de León, from the Semilla Movement, received the most votes. Neither participated in the legal appeal. The two are scheduled to face each other on August 20 for the presidential runoff. The first polls after the June 25 election predict UNE will win the August elections.

Sandra Torres is the former first lady and center-right candidate, while Bernardo Arévalo is a leftist who emerged from the state's diplomatic corps and founded the Semilla Movement in 2017.

The Constitutional Court's decision could jeopardize the result of the Semilla Movement in the first round of the elections. Arévalo obtained 12.07% of the total votes. Since the Court announced its decision, the leftist party has been launching messages in opposition to the ruling. Arévalo posted a video on social media calling on Guatemalans to "defend democracy" against the Court's decision.

"We cannot allow the same old parties, frustrated and disappointed by their poor results in the first round, to tarnish and call into question the free decision of thousands of Guatemalans who voted for a different future," said Arevalo in his statement.