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July 5, 2023

Guatemala Reviews Ballots After 1st Round Sends Progressive Bernardo Arévalo to Presidential Runoff
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Guatemala has begun a review of ballots from its presidential election
after the party of front-runner Sandra Torres, former first lady, and
her allies challenged the results of June's first round. Protests
erupted in Guatemala City over the weekend after the Constitutional
Court suspended the certification of the results, which put progressive
candidate Bernardo Arévalo of the Semilla party in second place, sending
him to the runoff in August against Sandra Torres. Rights groups have
urged the court to respect the will of the millions of Guatemalans who
took to the polls last month. This is a Semilla attorney.

Juan Guerrero: "What is clear is that the slogan of the official party,
supported by parties close to the ruling party, is to manage to open as
many boxes as possible that will allow them to declare the electoral
process null and void so that the election can be repeated."

Bernardo Arévalo is the son of former President Juan José Arévalo,
Guatemala's first democratically elected leader, who pushed for
revolutionary social reforms when he was in office from 1945 to '51.


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