Police scuffle with electoral court justices in Guatemala as prosecutors seek to seize vote tallies

Updated 12:54 PM CDT, September 30, 2023

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Policemen shoved and wrestled with justices of Guatemala’s top electoral tribunal Saturday, as prosecutors sought to seize the tally sheets of votes from the August presidential elections.

There were harrowing scenes of justices holding tight to boxes, as police tried to wrestle them away as part of raids to investigate spurious claims of voting fraud.

Observers at the time said they saw no evidence of any such fraud, and most in Guatemala see it as an attempt to weaken or disqualify the winning candidate, Bernardo Arévalo.

Seventy-year-old Justice Maynor Franco, wearing a suit and tie, refused to give up his grip on a vote box, even as a much younger agent tried to wrestle it away.

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https://apnews.com/article/guatemala-arevalo-elections-standoff-4950f85160c5354f9610a8282dc22e94