International bodies reject moves to block Guatemala president-elect from taking office

By SONIA PÉREZ D.
Associated Press

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — International and regional leaders have rejected the latest attempt by Guatemalan prosecutors to prevent progressive President-elect Bernardo Arévalo from taking office on Jan. 14. Prosecutors alleged on Friday that minutes seized during a raid showed that results from the presidential runoff vote Arévalo won in August had irregularities and were therefore void. Guatemala’s high electoral court, the Organization of American States and officials from the United Nations and the European Union criticized the efforts to invalidate the vote and to lift the president-elect’s legal immunity. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Saturday called the moves “extremely disturbing.” The European Union’s foreign policy chief says the EU is contemplating sanctions.