Guatemala’s Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered authorities to “guarantee” President-elect Bernardo Arevalo’s takeover in about a month, upholding an appeal against the prosecution’s ongoing efforts to block the transfer of power.

President-elect Arevalo will normally be sworn in and take office on January 14.

The country’s top judicial institution “urges parliament (…) to guarantee the assumption of office of every elected official who emerged in the context of the 2023 electoral process” after the “officialization and validation of the results”.

The Constitutional Court accepted an appeal filed in October by a group of lawyers and citizens to remove legal obstacles to Mr. Arevalos, the winner of the second round of the presidential election in August, taking power.

His decision — 65 pages long — also reaffirms that Vice President-elect Karin Herrera, 160 members of Congress and 340 elected mayors must take office. It warns that “in case of non-compliance”, those responsible will bear “civil and criminal responsibilities”.

After the unexpected victory of Bernardo Arevalo in the presidential elections, thanks mainly to his promise to fight endemic corruption in the Central American country, the prosecution multiplied the actions against him: the legal status of his party was revoked, it was requested that his immunity be lifted as senator, accusations were made against the electoral court, it was requested that the result of the election be declared invalid.

Although it orders that guarantees be given for the transfer of power, the Constitutional Court notes that its decision is not intended to “infringe on the investigative and prosecution powers of the prosecution”.

As the constitutionalist Edgar Ortiz noted, “the decision emphasizes the autonomy of the prosecutor’s office, but it is absolutely clear that its investigations cannot hinder the electoral process, which ends with the assumption of the duties of the elected”.

“The Court issued a courageous and historic decision,” he emphasized via X .

The maneuvers of the prosecution, which is headed by Attorney General Consuelo Porras — whose name appears on a blacklist of “corrupt” officials drawn up by the US government — have provoked outraged reactions from the governments of most Latin American countries, from the US, from the European Union, from the Organization of American States and from the UN.

On Monday, Washington announced new travel restrictions on 300 Guatemalans, including about a hundred members of parliament.

Yesterday Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution calling for sanctions to be imposed on those responsible for the “coup attempt” in Guatemala.

Outgoing President Alejandro Yamatei assured on Tuesday that his intention is to “respect the democratic principle of rotation in power” and that nothing can “prevent the elected authorities from assuming their duties”.