Prosecutors in Guatemala ask court to lift president-elect’s immunity
LA TimesPresident-elect Bernardo Arévalo leads a march in Guatemala City on Thursday in protest of government interference in the election he won in August. Prosecutors in Guatemala on Friday asked a court to strip President-elect Bernardo Arévalo of his immunity, saying there could be enough irregularities to annul the election results, a move that the Organization of American States called part of “a coup attempt.” It was the third time prosecutors had made the request since Arévalo won election in August. Arévalo is scheduled to take office Jan. 14, and it was unclear whether the prosecutors’ continued targeting of him and his party could interfere with the inauguration. The most recent request from prosecutors cites alleged irregularities in the way Arévalo’s Seed Movement party gathered signatures to register years earlier. Earlier this month, three magistrates of Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal left the country, hours after the Congress opened them up to prosecution by stripping them of their immunity as the losing side in the presidential election continued its efforts to interfere with the results.