Despite Bernardo Arevalo winning this year’s election and taking office following post-election turmoil, Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated on Friday that democracy in Guatemala ‘remains in danger.’
Due to efforts by the Prosecutor’s Office to void the election’s results and keep Arevalo from taking the oath of office as president, Guatemala had one of the most turbulent election processes in the country’s recent history in 2023.
Read Also: Lagos Confirms 17 Cholera Cases, 15 Deaths - Viztadaily
‘I talked with a human rights advocate who informed me that democracy is still vulnerable. ‘We need to take all necessary steps to alter the current situation,
and I wholeheartedly concur with this evaluation,’ Turk declared during a press conference held in Guatemala City to wrap up his tour.
This week, Turk met with advocates of civil rights, Arevalo, Supporting the nation’s attempts to fortify its democratic system is a ‘priority’ for him, according to merchants and leaders of the indigenous people.
‘The three powers must cooperate for a state to be able to operate. Additionally, it won’t occur at this time. He continued,
‘There is a great deal of polarization among the institutional entities in our country due to the intense conflicts between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
Arevalo has been in Congress since January, but he has only won 23 of the 160 seats available to him.
As a result, he has lost multiple battles and failed to pass various bills, including ones that would have increased the national budget and authorized rain emergencies.
