GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — International and regional leaders have rejected the latest attempt by Guatemalan prosecutors to prevent progressive President-elect Bernardo Arévalo from taking office on Jan. 14.
Prosecutors asked a court Friday to strip Arévalo of his legal immunity and alleged that minutes seized during a raid of electoral offices showed that results from the presidential runoff vote he won in August had irregularities and were therefore void.
Arévalo said the prosecution was seeking to undermine his ability to govern. Guatemala’s high electoral court, the Organization of American States and officials from the United Nations, the British Foreign Office and the European Union echoed his sentiment.
“Friday’s announcements, aimed at nullifying the outcome of the general elections and questioning the constitution and existence of the Movimiento Semilla party, are extremely disturbing,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement issued Saturday.
The Organization of American States and the EU were among a number of entities that sent observers to monitor the election and confirmed…
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