Officials stated Thursday that an assessment of Guatemala’s June 25 presidential election, which aroused international concern over the potential undermining of democracy, has been completed.
In an unexpected result, two social-democrats, Sandra Torres and Bernardo Arevalo, won the first round of voting last month.
Opponents from nine right-wing groups filed an appeal with Guatemala’s constitutional court, claiming electoral violations.
The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which oversees voting in Guatemala, was subsequently directed by the court to suspend the “officialization” of the results, provoking criticism from election observers as well as the United States and the European Union.
The TSE announced on Monday that a check of voting records will begin on Tuesday at its operations center in Guatemala City, which AFP noticed was well guarded by police and soldiers.
The evaluation was finished on Thursday, according to a TSE official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
TSE President Irma Palencia later told reporters that the review had not been completed, but that her agency was “guaranteeing the custody of the vote, as well as transparent and efficient elections.”
She stated that just a “very small percentage” difference had been discovered between the TSE statistics released last week and the review process results.
Before the results of the June election can be announced, the review must be completed.
Several sources, including different parties that requested the review, informed AFP that the recount supported Torres and Arevalo’s initial results of first and second place, respectively.
