La House Democracy Partnership (HDP) sent a letter to the Secretary of the United States Department of State, Antony Blinken, about the political crisis in Guatemala and where to express his concern about the attempt to undermine democracy in Guatemala.
The House Democracy Partnership is a bipartisan committee of the United States House of Representatives (Republicans and Democrats) and urges the Biden administration to foster a peaceful transition of power and work with international partners to avoid further setbacks.
Read also: Indigenous authorities of Sololá free vehicular passage on the Inter-American Highway and announce protests in the capital
The letter was signed this Friday by Vern Buchanan, presiding member of the HDP; Dina Titus, member and ranking member in HDP and Norma J. TorresHDP member.
The parliamentarians point out that they firmly support the results that were made official by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) of Guatemala of the 2023 elections, including that of the elected president Bernardo Arévalo.
“As we rapidly approach the expiration of legal protections for political parties on October 31, when the electoral period concludes, we fear a further deterioration of democratic practices and the rule of law in Guatemala. As such, we urge the US administration to prominently support a peaceful transition of power in Guatemala and condemn corrupt efforts to overturn certified results.”says the letter sent to Blinken.
I led a bipartisan letter today with @house_democracy to @SecBlinken on the urgent situation in #Guatemala.
The U.S. must do all it can to support democracy and the peaceful transfer of power to President-elect @BArevalodeLeon.
— Rep. Norma Torres (@NormaJTorres) October 27, 2023
Free and fair elections
They add: “Despite these corrupt attempts to affect the outcome. The June general elections were considered free and fair and led to a presidential runoff, in which candidate Bernardo Arévalo of the Semilla Movement prevailed with almost 60% of the vote. “This surprising referendum against the previous ruling party reflects the will of the people to achieve political change in Guatemala.”
The parliamentarians also asked the Biden administration to express its support for the legitimacy of President-elect Arévalo and the Semilla party before the end of the electoral period.
“The HDP fervently hopes that Guatemala will protect its democracy from attempts to jeopardize the credibility and fairness of the country’s electoral processes.”is mentioned in the letter.
