Guatemala’s Congress stripped five sitting legislators belonging to President-elect Bernardo Arévalo’s Movimiento Semilla political party of their party status Wednesday.
(Bloomberg) — Guatemala’s Congress stripped five sitting legislators belonging to President-elect Bernardo Arévalo’s Movimiento Semilla political party of their party status Wednesday.
The legislature declared the five lawmakers independents, following a ruling by a government agency Monday to suspend Movimiento Semilla pending an investigation, according to a decree read in Congress. As independents, Semilla lawmakers cannot serve on legislative committees or hold seats on the congressional board of directors, which determines the daily agenda.
Representatives for Arévalo filed an appeal Tuesday seeking to reverse the suspension. Arévalo has faced repeated attempts to annul his party and overturn election results since winning a presidential vote Aug. 20.
Arévalo is scheduled to be sworn in on Jan. 14 and President Alejandro Giammattei said he will meet with Arévalo’s team next week to begin the transition.
Arévalo’s Semilla party picked up 23 seats in the country’s legislature in this month’s election, but it’s unclear if they will be able to take office as Semilla lawmakers given this case.
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