Salvador Paiz, president of Funsepa and board member of Fundesa in Guatemala City: “Elections in Guatemala are powered by citizen volunteers who safeguard democracy and protect each vote. As with previous elections, this was a civic celebration that evolved with no major violence or tension. With a relatively low 45.1 percent turnout, Bernardo Arévalo was elected with a comfortable 60.9 percent of valid votes. The result follows the pattern of prior runoff elections against three-time presidential candidate Sandra Torres, with Jimmy Morales getting 65.5 percent of the vote in 2015 and Alejandro Giammattei receiving 58 percent in 2019. The election was marred by the judicialization of the electoral process. The ‘cancellation’ of candidates is comparable to what transpired in 2019. However, the judicialization became more disruptive by encroaching on the electoral period and by encompassing the electoral authorities. The investigation into the allegedly fraudulent creation of Semilla is based on…”