Front Runner of Guatemala's Presidential Election Halts Campaign Amid Legal Standoff

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Former Guatemalan first lady and presidential candidate Sandra Julieta Torres Casanova, who was the front runner in the first round of the presidential election in the country from the National Unity of Hope party, said Thursday she halted her election campaign "out of solidarity with citizens and their will."

Torres made the remarks following the decision of a criminal court to temporarily deprive the Semilla Movement party, whose candidate also was in runoff, of its legal status.

"As a presidential candidate, I declare that we have decided to suspend our election campaign in solidarity with the citizens who came to vote, in solidarity with the will of the people. We are not going to take advantage of the situation, even though we have officially made it to the second round," Torres told a news conference broadcast on her social media.

Local media reported the Constitutional Court of Guatemala granted temporary protection to the Semilla Movement, whose registration had been suspended the previous day at the request of the prosecutor's office so that the election process in the country could continue.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Electoral Court of Guatemala recognized the results of the June presidential election and announced that Torres and Bernardo Arevalo, the leaders of the Semilla Movement party, entered the second round of voting, scheduled for August 20.

The court added that the final turnout was 5.56 million people, or about 60% of the total electorate, and that the National Unity of Hope received 888,924 votes and the Semilla Movement - 653,486 votes.

An hour before the publication of the results of the first round of the presidential election, the Seventh Criminal Court of Guatemala, at the request of the prosecutor's office, temporarily deprived the Semilla Movement of its legal status.

The party is reportedly suspected of forging signatures during its registration and illegally financing this process. The party filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court on Thursday night to overturn the ruling and against the judge who made the decision.

Manfredo Marroquin, a presidential candidate from the Semilla Movement in 2019, has told Sputnik that the prosecutor's office's actions toward the Semilla Movement were an attempt by the so-called "corrupt pact" — an alleged secret collusion between politicians, businesspersons and law enforcers, as well as criminal leaders, who have usurped state functions and cover for each other in case of prosecution — to sabotage election results unfavorable to them.

"The feeling and atmosphere in the country is one of confusion and chaos. There is an obvious attempt to disrupt the elections because the result is inconvenient for the government and the famous 'corrupt pact' that controls state functions," Marroquin said.

The official further indicated the decision was "completely illegal" as it is "impossible to cancel a party during the election period," noting that "those who put their people in public office are afraid of losing their corrupt business and impunity."