Guatemala electoral authority suspends ban on Arevalo's party

Guatemala's electoral tribunal has temporarily revoked a suspension order against President-elect Bernardo Arevalo's Semilla party, which had sowed confusion about his victory in the days after the election.

Electoral officials, in a document, said on Sunday that they nulled on Saturday the suspension order through October

Semilla's disqualification will resume after this process concludes, court spokesman Luis Gerardo Ramirez said.

"It is not reasonable or prudent to challenge the status of political organisations... until the electoral process is over," Ramirez said.

Arevalo pulled off a big upset by advancing to the runoff after a first round marked by apathy among voters. Poverty, violence and corruption push thousands of Guatemalans abroad every year in search of a better life, many to the United States.

After the first round of voting on June 25, Guatemalan judge Fredy Orellana, at the request of prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, ordered the electoral tribunal to suspend Semilla pending an investigation into alleged anomalies in its party registration.

Orellana and Curruchiche are both on a US list of "corrupt actors," and foreign allies slammed meddling in the election process.

The move prompted swift international backlash, including from the Organisation of American States (OAS), and Arevalo vowed to appeal what he called an "illegal" suspension.

Hundreds of supporters marched in capital Guatemala City on Saturday, answering a rally cry from Arevalo to "unite" behind his government.

Democracy in decline

The tribunal said the suspension could not stand because it did not come from an electoral body.

Its decision holds until the official end of the electoral period October 31, because Guatemala’s electoral law does not allow the suspension of a party during the electoral period.

The Seed Movement had also appealed the suspension through the normal court system, but so far without result. It is expected that come November 1, the party could be suspended again.

The congressional leadership had already used the suspension of the Seed Movement last week to make its seven lawmakers, including Arevalo, independents, which bars them from leading legislative committees or holding other positions of leadership in the Congress.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal recognised Arevalo as the winner and outgoing President Alejandro Giammattei has said he will begin the transition, but the Attorney General’s Office has been aggressively pursuing the Seed Movement on various fronts.

On Friday, the head of the Organization of American States’ electoral observation mission said the efforts appear aimed at keeping Arevalo from taking office in January.

Observers inside and outside Guatemala have warned in recent years that the country's democracy is in decline.