Deputies elected by the Semilla party presented this Tuesday, April 30, a complaint once morest the prosecutors of the Public Ministry (MP), Rafael Curruchiche, Cinthia Monterroso and Leonor Eugenia Morales. The legal action is based on a press conference held in December 2023, where prosecutors questioned the election results.
Deputy Samuel Pérez, elected by the currently suspended group, explained that the complaint includes the crimes of usurpation, disobedience and violations of the Constitution.
Pérez accused prosecutors of trying to make people believe that “the electoral results did not reflect the will of the people of Guatemala,” and noted that this complaint is part of a process to “avoid impunity” in these cases.
“We presented the complaint and accused them of the crimes of usurpation, disobedience and violations once morest the Constitution, for a press conference in which they implied or tried to make believe that the electoral results were not those that had been expressed in the ballot boxes for the people of Guatemala,” Pérez declared before the media.
In his statements, Pérez argued that, in his view, prosecutors attempted to usurp functions that correspond to the electoral authority by questioning the electoral results and suggesting that they did not reflect the popular will.
“In the case of the crime of usurpation, this is because a prosecutor cannot be attributed functions, which correspond to the electoral authority […] The TSE gave the results that were and were recorded in the minutes, but the prosecutor decided that the popular will was not valid and that his word was worth more than that,” he stated.
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Pérez said that this complaint was specifically directed at the MP prosecutors who gave the conference, but added that on other occasions the Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, has been denounced.
On March 22, 2024, a group of members of the same political group filed another criminal complaint once morest the same prosecutors, accusing them of sedition, usurpation of functions due to abuse of authority and disclosure of confidential information, also for trying to ignore the electoral result. .
For its part, the Public Ministry (MP) stated that the complaint filed by the deputies is “one more action within that series of systematic intimidating attacks of which the Public Ministry personnel have been the object, through a pattern of coercion with the sole purpose of stopping ongoing investigations”.
The investigating entity assured that it has held responsible for any situation that threatens the life, integrity and safety of the employees and officials of the institution before the relevant authorities.
In that sense, the MP indicated that in the case called Semilla Corruption, three people have been sentenced, who have accepted responsibility for the crimes indicated. This case remains under investigation.
At the press conference on December 8, 2023, MP prosecutors revealed details of the case once morest the Semilla party and assured that, in their opinion, the elections won by Arévalo “are null and void.”
Prosecutor Leonor Morales stated on that occasion that the elections were invalid due to alleged administrative irregularities in the electoral records, which, according to Morales, were not those approved by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
Meanwhile, prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche said that, according to the investigation, there were “crossed out minutes, minutes without signatures from the Vote Receiving Boards, and discrepancies between the number of voters and ballots.”
“Basically, this investigation concerns the entire electoral process and, therefore, from our particular point of view they should be annulled,” he stated on that occasion.
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Popular consultation proposal
The complaint was filed following President Bernardo Arévalo’s statements last Monday, April 29, when he mentioned the possibility of holding a popular consultation to remove prosecutor Porras from her position, which generated a firm response from the prosecutor in defense of her management.
Porras, in statements to the media, affirmed that any request for dismissal must comply with the law and defended his work at the head of the Public Ministry.
President Arévalo has publicly accused Porras of trying to hinder his inauguration as president since he won the elections in 2023.
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Additionally, you can see: Can the attorney general be removed through a popular consultation?
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