An interesting story popped up recently that reminded me of the problems we have been having with our own election.
The certification of the Guatemalan election was halted by court order.
The formalization of the election was halted due to a massive lawsuit filed due to alleged problems with the ballot certification.
Check the Ballots
This is an election where the “null” ballots exceeded the ballot count of any one candidate.
In these ballots, election officials stated they were “unable” to establish the voters’ intention on the ballot, so the ballot was nullified.
This massive discounting of ballots resulted in a surprise candidate making the runoff, Bernardo Arévalo of the Semilla Movement party.
In the process, all the right-wing, conservative candidates were ruled out of the runoff election that is scheduled to take place in August.
Arévalo stated, “National and international observers have identified that the elections in Guatemala took place peacefully and with integrity and that they consider that the excessive judicialization of this process risks not only the electoral process, but also the nature of democracy itself in Guatemala.”
Our State Department chimed in, stating, “The United States endorses the conclusions of the numerous Guatemalan organizations representing the private sector and civil society observation missions as well as international observation missions, including the Organization of American States and the European Union, which found that the published results in Guatemala’s most highly observed election matched with their observations across the country.
“Undermining the June 25 election would be a grave threat to democracy with far reaching implications.”
In all, 10 political parties have joined the lawsuit, including the party of the frontrunner in the race.
