Ahead of the second round of the presidential elections scheduled for 20 August 2023, the global civil society alliance CIVICUS calls on the Guatemalan authorities to respect the rule of law and democratic values to prevent a political crisis. Guatemala is currently at a precipice as some political parties have contested the outcome of the first round of elections held on 25 June 2023.
We welcome the official announcement by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal of the results of the first round amidst rising tensions. However, we are deeply concerned about the continued efforts by political parties and their allies in the judicial sector to alter these election results. We call on Guatemalan authorities to fully respect the integrity of the electoral process and the outcome of the first round of voting, which has been closely followed by national and international observers.
The elections were held in an atmosphere in which the rule of law was under attack, the independence of the judiciary was questioned, and journalists and human rights defenders were subjected to restrictions for their work.
To preserve the integrity of the electoral process, it is critical that the second round of the presidential elections on August 20 is held in strict compliance with the law. Constitutional order must be fully respected, and the authorities should create an environment where people participate without fear of reprisals.
CIVICUS calls on the Government of Guatemala to:
- Ensure that people exercise their civic and political rights in the context of the presidential elections. Immediately and unconditionally drop charges against all human rights defenders (HRDs), labour leaders, and journalists.
- Investigate and hold to account any government officials or non-state actors perpetrating intimidation and harassment against HRDs and journalists.
- Refrain from further persecuting justice officials for defending human rights and fighting corruption.
Background
In July 2022, CIVICUS, Acción Ciudadana and Redlad submitted Guatemala’s UN Universal Periodic Review, which outlined the extreme violence against HRDs and journalists, who continue to face attacks, harassment, stigmatisation and killings. State and non-state actors have escalated attacks with impunity. The submission further reports cases of judicial harassment against justice officials and journalists and the gradual reduction of the space for a free and independent press.
As a result of these developments, civic space in Guatemala is currently rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform that tracks threats to civil society in countries across the globe.
