GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) -The Organization of American States (OAS) said on Monday it will send its election observer mission back to Guatemala after the country’s constitutional court called for a review of the election’s first round.
The decision follows an announcement from Guatemala’s top court over the weekend which ordered ballots from the June 25 elections for president and congress be reviewed after the front-runner’s party and allies challenged the results.
Former first lady Sandra Torres is set to face off in the decisive second round on Aug. 20 with anti-graft candidate Bernardo Arevalo, who bucked forecasts to become the runner-up as anger over years of corruption scandals dominated voter sentiment.
Some analysts expect Arevalo to win the run-off due to Torres’ unpopularity in the voter-dense capital, Guatemala City.
“Given the recent resolution of the Constitutional Court… the mission has decided to deploy again in Guatemala,” OAS said in a statement.
It added the observer mission will be present during the review process and “will continue to gather relevant information” ahead of the run-off.
“The mission considers it of vital importance that the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box be respected,” the OAS added.
On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was “deeply concerned by efforts that interfere with the June 25 election result.”
(Reporting by Carolina Pulice and Sofia Menchu; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and David Gregorio)
