MADRID, 26 May. (EUROPEAN PRESS) –
Guatemala’s Constitutional Court (CC) rejected this Friday the Citizens’ Welfare Party’s (PC) appeal to confirm businessman Carlos Pineda’s candidacy for the 2023 election, thus confirming his exclusion from the country’s presidential race.
The statement said, “This court declares that it has rendered a decision that finds the objections inadmissible (…) The Constitutional Court reiterates its commitment to defend the constitutional order with impartiality and full independence, strictly adhering to the law.”
After the Sixth Chamber of the Guatemalan Administrative Court of Justice vetoed Pineda’s candidacy for the 2023 presidential election, the general assembly of the constitutional assembly rejected his appeal in extraordinary session.
Shortly after the verdict was made public, Pineda stated on his Twitter profile that “corruption has won.” “The MK approves of electoral fraud and Guatemala loses and we are deprived of democracy,” he urged in another message to vote invalid.
According to the news of ‘La Prensa Libre’ newspaper, the prominent businessman in opinion polls filed two amparo cases at the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), but his attempts were also rejected by the high court.
The Pineda exclusion case is not the only one facing presidential elections; In recent weeks, right-wing candidate Rafael Curruchiche, left-wing indigenous leader Thelma Cabrera and right-wing candidate Roberto Arzú have also been excluded.
On April 1, Human Rights Watch (HRW) demanded that Guatemala end the “apparently arbitrary” exclusion of presidential candidates for risking holding “fair and free” elections.
Source: Noti Merica
