Guatemala body ratifies presidential vote result amid new bid to thwart victor

Electoral tribunal officials declared Arevalo the victor at a press conference, then faced questions about a document from a separate authority published in local media that ordered a temporary suspension of Semilla's legal registration. Irma Palencia, head of the tribunal, said the document cited was from a lower authority, but could not yet comment on its contents.

Guatemala's supreme electoral tribunal on Monday ratified the victory of center-left candidate Bernardo Arevalo in the country's presidential election even as a new bid to suspend his party sowed fresh confusion about the fraught process.

Arevalo, a 64-year-old ex-diplomat and son of a former president, resoundingly won the Aug. 20 second-round run-off after prosecutors had earlier threatened to bar his party, Semilla, from the election, prompting an international outcry. Electoral tribunal officials declared Arevalo the victor at a press conference, then faced questions about a document from a separate authority published in local media that ordered a temporary suspension of Semilla's legal registration.

Irma Palencia, head of the tribunal, said the document cited was from a lower authority, but could not yet comment on its contents. She underlined that Arevalo was officially the winner.