Party of Guatemala’s president-elect appeals its suspension, calling it illegal

By SONIA PÉREZ D. AND MEGAN JANETSKY
Associated Press

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The party of Guatemala’s president-elect Bernardo Arévalo has appealed to the country’s top electoral authority to lift a suspension by a lower election agency. The party says it was an illegal move aimed at thwarting the anti-corruption campaigner. The petition by Arévalo’s Seed Movement comes after a night of political chaos. Hours before the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal certified late Monday that Arévalo won this month’s presidential election, another government body _ the electoral registry _ suspended his party from all political activities. Arévalo appears certain to take office as president on Jan. 14, but the suspension throws into doubt whether his Seed Movement lawmakers can take their seats in Congress.