My delegation makes this statement with a heavy heart.
We have collaborated in this Council with the delegation of Guatemala on several
resolutions and declarations that have advanced the interests of this Organization
and the people of this hemisphere.
We have the highest regard for the Ambassador of Guatemala Rita di Scioli and
Foreign Minister Mario Búcaro.
In this context, we are saddened that we must express our great concern about
events by authorities in Guatemala that place democracy at risk, particularly in
relation to Articles 3 and 6 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
Article 3 calls for the exercise of power in accordance with the rule of law, the
pluralistic system of political parties and organizations, free and fair elections, and
the independence of the branches of government.
However, it has become clear that in the run-up to the June 25 th Presidential and
other elections and since then, including events that took place yesterday, there
have been abuses of authority to frustrate the will of the electorate, particularly in
the presidential elections.
My delegation will not rehearse the several abuses that have taken place, especially
by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, designed to overturn the result of the first round
of the elections which have now been twice upheld by the Supreme Electoral
Tribunal.
These deliberate attempts to topple the expressed will of the electorate have been
well documented by the OAS Election Observer Mission and by other international
agencies, particularly the European Union.
However, my delegation notes that the result of the elections and the recount of the
votes led to final results which were almost identical to the preliminary results.
There was no conclusive evidence of vote tampering, which is the unsupported
allegation on which the Public Prosecutor continues to base actions designed to
disqualify presidential candidate, Bernardo Arévalo and his Movimiento Semilla
party.
Furthermore, Guatemalan law prohibits the disqualification of any party once the
election process has started.
Consequently, my delegation is deeply concerned that instead of upholding the law
the Public Prosecutor is violating it.
This is not only unacceptable, it runs counter to the spirit and letter of the Inter-
American Democratic Charter.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal has authorised that the second presidential
elections to determine a winner will be held on August 20 with the two front
runners, Sandra Torres of the National Union of Hope and Bernardo Arévalo of
Semilla as the contenders.
My delegation urges the authorities in Guatemala to respect the democratic process
and the will of the electorate by ensuring free and fair elections and upholding the
rule of law.
Credible, free, and fair elections are the bedrock of representative democracy.
Mr. Chairman, my delegation also calls on the general secretariat not only to
observe the run-off election on 20 th August but also to keep this Council fully
informed of developments in Guatemala on this issue.
Finally, my delegation thanks the OAS electoral observer mission, headed by the
distinguished former Foreign Minister of Paraguay, for its professional and careful
work on these elections in Guatemala, and for the reports it has submitted.
This Observer mission to Guatemala underscores the important role that
international election observation missions play in ensuring that the will of the
electorate is respected and that democracy is upheld.
