GUATEMALA CITY (AP) 鈥� Just as began to elect magistrates to its highest court on Thursday in a test of strength of its democratic institutions, prosecutors said they raided two voting locations in what lawyers and the country’s president said was an attempt to interfere in the elections.
The latest action 鈥� carried out by the internationally criticized Attorney General’s office 鈥� reignited tensions in a yearslong battle to root out endemic corruption plaguing the Central American country’s institutions.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Ar茅valo and his anti-corruption allies have often clashed with prosecutors they accuse of rotting Guatemala鈥檚 justice system and making politically motivated arrests.
The agents who carried out the raid were led by Leonor Morales, a prosecutor sanctioned by the United States for trying to overturn Ar茅valo’s presidential win in 2023. Morales has also previously persecuted judicial officials fighting corruption. She refused to provide more information because it was an open investigation.
鈥淚nformation (about the raid) cannot be shared, and I therefore request that the media be removed鈥� from the premises, said Morales, whose team also briefly tried to block the entrance of lawyers who wanted to vote, though eventually voting resumed with agents watching.
鈥楢 new attempt to undermine institutions鈥�
Ar茅valo accused the prosecutor’s office of carrying out a “new attempt to undermine institutions and disrupt the normal functioning of the rule of law” in a video address to Guatemalans posted on social media.
The president accused the prosecutor鈥檚 office of seeking to frighten and intimidate voters, and he called on lawyers to cast their ballots and not allow the officials to alter the course of the elections as it tried to during his election in 2023.
鈥淕uatemala鈥檚 democracy is not negotiable, it will not be intimidated, and it will not be taken away. It is to be respected,鈥� he said.
Later, the Constitutional Court issued an injunction to keep the Attorney General鈥檚 office from intervening in the election or the vote count, but allowing it to continue its investigation.
The Organization of American States’ mission observing the process condemned the agents鈥� actions during the election.
鈥淭he carrying out of coercive measures 鈥� including raids, inspections, or the securing of documents 鈥� at polling centers while the electoral process is underway constitutes an extremely high constitutional risk,鈥� the mission said in a statement. 鈥淭he Mission warns that the strategic use of criminal or judicial tools at critical moments of constitutional appointments constitutes a pattern of institutional instrumentalization that erodes public trust, compromises judicial independence, and weakens the rule of law.鈥�
A court at the center of the battle
Guatemala鈥檚 Constitutional Court has been at the center of the country’s battle against corruption. The court has ruled in high-profile cases on the future of an international anti-corruption commission and the release of a former president charged with corruption.
The Constitutional Court comprises five magistrates, and the president, Supreme Court of Justice, Congress, University of San Carlos and the country鈥檚 bar association each select one. Almost all of the current magistrates are hoping to be reelected.
On Thursday, the bar association was holding its election to pick its magistrate and alternate, the first for the new Constitutional Court. The other institutions will pick their representatives in the coming weeks.
A new attorney general will also be elected in the coming months to replace Guatemala鈥檚 outgoing top prosecutor , sanctioned by the United States and European Union for undermining democracy.
President Ar茅valo called the selection process 鈥渋mportant and critical for democracy,鈥� in an .
鈥淭he democratic development of the country is on the line, the possibility of having democratic institutions where a culture of respect for the rule of law is built,鈥� he said.
Guatemala鈥檚 top court
The Constitutional Court is Guatemala鈥檚 highest and its decisions cannot be appealed.
At the Constitutional Court, all 10 positions 鈥� five magistrates and five alternates 鈥� will be elected.
The high court鈥檚 importance is undisputed and that has drawn corruption into the selection previously.
When former President Jimmy Morales terminated the mandate of an anti-corruption commission known as the CICIG in 2019, the Constitutional Court acted as a key democratic safeguard and ruled his decision unconstitutional.
But the court took a turn when new magistrates were elected in 2021.
Human rights lawyer Rafael Maldonado said that 鈥渢he last five years there has been a Constitutional Court made up of dark characters who have stopped any advance there could be in Guatemala.鈥�
For example, the court in April 2024 upheld the (2012-2015), who had been convicted in two separate cases of corruption.
Five judges and their backups will also be elected to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. In non-justice positions, a new federal comptroller will be elected, as will a rector for the University of San Carlos of Guatemala.
The elections are being closely watched because of the impact they can have on Guatemala鈥檚 justice system. The Organization of American States, a regional body, created a Special Mission for the Strengthening of Democratic Institutions in Guatemala to monitor the nomination processes and the European Union sent its own observation group.
Maldonado said the elections will determine 鈥渢he consolidation of access to justice.鈥�
Political analyst Renzo Rosal said the elections will 鈥減ut democracy to the test.鈥�
鈥淚t is the perfect laboratory to see how the institutions are steered toward greater cooptation, control and loss of independence, which has a direct affect on the citizenry,鈥� he said.
A new top prosecutor
Under Attorney General , Guatemala’s Public Ministry has been criticized for undermining corruption investigations and carrying out political prosecutions against former prosecutors, judges and journalists who reported corruption.
Porras鈥� office also played a key role in from running in the 2023 elections. It then pursued Ar茅valo鈥檚 political party in what many saw as an attempt to keep him from taking office after his in a tumultuous election.
Ar茅valo requested her resignation, but she refused. He does not have the power to remove her before her eight-year run in the role ends in May. She is seeking election as a magistrate to the Constitutional Court.
The constitution says the president gets to select the attorney general every four years from a slate of six candidates proposed by a nominating committee made up of the president of the Supreme Court, the deans of the country鈥檚 law schools, the president of the board of the bar association and the president of the bar association鈥檚 honor tribunal.
Porras was first selected by in 2018 and then reelected by his successor . She was accused of protecting both former leaders from investigation for corruption, something she has denied.
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