The Special Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) for the Strengthening of Democratic Institutions in Guatemala takes note of the recent events related to the second-degree electoral processes, involving the composition of the Nominating Committees and the institutional appointment that directly impact the state institutions' independence, electoral integrity, the rule of law, and democracy.
In particular, the Mission takes note of the second-round elections of the Guatemalan Bar and Notaries Association (CANG) to elect its representatives to the Nominating Committee for the election of the magistrates to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), as well as the election of the representatives to the forum of private universities rectors and the group of deans of those institutions.
The OAS Special Mission welcomes the historic participation of the association of lawyers and notaries in the recent election of the Guatemalan Bar and Notaries Association, highlighting the significantly higher participation rate compared to the previous election. This increase is a positive sign of the association's civic interest and commitment to the second-degree electoral processes and the strengthening of democratic institutions.
Furthermore, the Mission takes note of the public interrogations and actions announced or brought in relation to the appointment of the representative for the forum of private universities rectors, arising from allegations regarding their simultaneous exercise of rectoral and religious duties. In this context, the Mission reminds that the applicable regulatory framework establishes clear requirements and impediments for integrating the Nominating Committee of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, including the express prohibition for ministers of any religion or denomination to be part of said Committee. Likewise, the Mission emphasizes the need for the competent authorities to verify promptly, objectively, exhaustively, and with due publicity whether or not such legal impediment exists, in order to provide judicial certainty, prevent subsequent controversies and safeguard the legitimacy, credibility and stability of the nominating process and its results.
The Mission calls on the Congress of the Republic to swear in and install without further delay the members of the TSE Nominating Committee and to ensure its operations meet standards of transparency, access to information and openness to observation. The timely installation and orderly conduct of the Committee's work enable the conditions necessary to fulfill its mandate, including approving candidates' profiles, verifying their backgrounds, reviewing their files, and compiling the list of candidates to be submitted to Congress.
Likewise, the Mission takes note of the call made by Congress to form the Nominating Committee for the election of the Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) and encourages that their swearing-in and installation take place as soon as possible. The Mission reaffirms that the selection processes for high-level officials must be governed by criteria of merit, suitability and integrity, and be carried out with clear rules, citizen participation and accountability.
The OAS Special Mission reiterates its concerns about the governance situation at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC), and its highest governing body, the Higher University Council (USC), under whose internal renewal processes have faced significant delays and the failure to call elections for council members, despite court rulings ordering that they be held. This situation has led to a significant number of CSU members exercising their functions beyond their statutory term, affecting the full operations of the body which, by legal mandate, must participate in the appointment of primary and alternate magistrates to the Constitutional Court (CC) for the 2026-2031 period. The Mission takes note of the warnings issued by the Constitutional Court in respect to the possible legal consequences for failure to comply with such obligations, and stresses that the timely regularization and renewal of the CSU is essential to guarantee the legitimacy, transparency and legality of the appointment process for magistrates to the CC, in accordance with the democratic and constitutional principles.
Finally, the Mission notes the beginning of the relevant stages of the renewal process of the Constitutional Court (CC), including the call made by the Guatemalan Bar of Lawyers and Notaries Association for the appointment of primary and alternate magistrates. In this context, the Mission takes note of the public statements by the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, to the extent that said body could opt to directly appoint its magistrates to the CC, without conducting a prior call for applications and evaluation process, noting that this modality is still under review. Without prejudging the constitutional powers of the appointing bodies, the Mission outlines that due to the nature and centrality of the CC in the constitutional order, any appointment procedure must ensure that decisions are duly reasoned, transparent and based on objective criteria of merits and suitability, fully coherent with the principles of legality, judicial independence and constitutional control.
The OAS Special Mission reiterates its disposal to keep monitoring the second-degree election processes and thus accompany and provide technical cooperation, within the framework of its mandate; and urges all institutional and social actors to avoid actions that hinder the normal development of the processes and to conduct their actions with the strict respect to the Constitution and democratic order.
Reference: E-006/26
