US warns against efforts to interfere with Guatemala election result

Frontrunner Sandra Torres alleged votes were manipulated after centrist Bernardo Arevalo claimed surprise runner-up spot

Staff and agencies
Mon 3 Jul 2023 13.07 EDT

The US has issued a warning over possible efforts to interfere with Guatemala’s presidential election result, after the country’s top court ordered ballots from the first-round vote be reviewed, setting up the potential for a recount.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Washington had endorsed findings from observers over the vote’s validity, and said undermining the outcome would be a “grave threat to democracy with far-reaching implications”.

Guatemala’s top court on Saturday ordered ballots from the 25 June election to be reviewed after the frontrunner’s party and allies challenged the results.

Sandra Torres, a former first lady who won the first round, has alleged votes were manipulated. Bernardo Arevalo, who bucked forecasts to become a close runner-up to Torres, described Torres’s vote review request as lacking legal merit and endangering the electoral process.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/03/us-warning-guatemala-election-result