GUATEMALA CITY (AP) 鈥 The electoral body in charge of regulating Guatemala鈥檚 political groups, known as the Citizen Registry, announced the suspension Thursday of President-elect Bernardo Ar茅valo鈥檚 Seed Movement party.
A judge had granted the party鈥檚 suspension at the request of the Attorney General鈥檚 Office back in July, shortly before Ar茅valo was declared the second-place finisher in the initial round of voting. But a higher court ruled that the party could not be suspended during the election cycle, which only ended Oct. 31.
Ar茅valo went on to win a runoff in August and is scheduled to take office in January.
However, since the original judge鈥檚 order for the party鈥檚 suspension remained pending, the Citizen Registry said Thursday it executed the order.
The Attorney General鈥檚 Office has alleged wrongdoing in the way the party collected the necessary signatures to register years earlier. Observers say Attorney General Consuelo Porras is trying to meddle in the election to thwart Ar茅valo and subvert the will of the people.
Luis Gerardo Ram铆rez, the registry鈥檚 spokesperson, said the party cannot hold assemblies or carry out administrative procedures.
Ram铆rez also said the party could appeal the registry鈥檚 decision to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, but since the order came from a judge the appeal would need to go through a court.
鈥淭he suspension is unprecedented, no criminal judge could suspend a party because it鈥檚 illegal,鈥 said Samuel P茅rez, leader of the Seed Movement鈥檚 lawmakers in the congress. 鈥淭he problem is that the judge鈥檚 suspension isn鈥檛 legal, it鈥檚 political.鈥
The U.S. State Department鈥檚 Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Eric Jacobstein told journalists during a visit to Guatemala Thursday that the party鈥檚 suspension was worrisome as an apparent way to interfere to with Ar茅valo鈥檚 transition to office.
It remained to be seen how the order would affect other institutions such as Congress, where Seed Movement lawmakers were supposed to eventually take their seats.
Opponents of the Seed Movement in Congress already had declared those incoming lawmakers independent, meaning they could not chair committees or hold other leadership positions. A court at the time had ruled that the Congress couldn't deny Seed Movement lawmakers leadership positions on grounds that the party couldn't be suspended during the election cycle.
