Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a statement on the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office related to the electoral process.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, expressed concern on Wednesday about the political crisis in Guatemala and criticized the attempts of the Attorney General’s Office to overturn the results of the last elections.
I am particularly alarmed by the continuing and systematic attempts, in particular by the Attorney General’s Office, to undermine the outcome of the general elections held in June and August this year, he commented in his end-of-year assessment on the most alarming in the different regions of the world.
In the elections in Guatemala, the leftist Bernardo Arévalo de León was defeated, who must take office on January 14 to replace the current president, Alejandro Giammattei, a transition that is being altered by the prosecution’s judicial actions against the recognition of that victory.
In this line, he asked that all Guatemalan authorities refrain from any further attempt to challenge the election results.
It also urged them to ensure full respect for the human rights of the population, including the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.
The will of the majority of the Guatemalan people must prevail and democracy must be safeguarded with the support of the international community, he stressed.
This article has been translated from the original which first appeared in Prensa Libre