Guatemala Attempted Coup
On Friday, Guatemala's top prosecutor's office declared the result of the recent election as void, which while not a binding move, represents the latest and perhaps most serious attempt to stop president elect Bernardo Arévalo from taking office in what he's labeled an attempted coup. Arévalo, a center left anti-corruption campaigner, won a surprise victory in the presidential election runoff on August 20th with nearly 61% of the vote. Having campaigned hard on fighting corruption and democratic backsliding, beating the establishment friendly former first lady Sandra Torres. However since winning the election, Arévalo has faced a seemingly endless barrage of legal challenges, aiming to disrupt his transition to the presidency, accusing his party of being improperly registered and citing anomalies in the first round vote. The Attorney General's office has tried to suspend his party, raided the Supreme Electoral Tribunal trying to lift the immunity that he gained as president elect and is now trying to declare the results void. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, has condemned the latest move as an attempt at a coup d'etat spearheaded by politically motivated prosecutors. While the Organization of American States has called the action typical of dictatorships and not democracies and also labelled it a coup attempt.
Arévalo has vowed to take office as planned on January 14th, and attacked the attempts at disruption as absurd, ridiculous and perverse. Fortunately for him, the actions of the attorney general and her allies are not backed by all state institutions, the president of the country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal said in response to the attorney General that the results are unalterable and that blocking Arévalo from power would be a break in the constitutional order. The ongoing political crisis has sparked pro-democracy protests, supporting the president elect and demanding the resignation of the attorney general and other relevant officials. Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras has by the way been indicted on a US list of corrupt actors since 2021. Through all of this conservative President Alejandro Giammattei, who did not run for reelection due to constitutional term limits, has insisted that a clean transition will take place and that Arévalo will take office. However, he's not to condemn the actions of the attorney General's office or acted against them. In recent years, Guatemala is said to have experienced notable democratic backsliding and deepening corruption. So Arévalo's struggle for the presidency is seen by his supporters as a crucial battle in reversing these trends.
China is interfering in Hong Kong elections
On Sunday, Hong Kong's local elections saw a historically low voter turnout of just 27.5% after pro-democracy candidates were prevented from running. Local citizens snubbed the district elections, operating on a Beijing imposed Patriots only policy that systematically excludes opposition Democrats and Liberals from running. Turnout numbers were low compared to the 71.2% in 2019 district elections, a year marked by pro-democracy protests and a democratic victory. Obviously, this was seen as a big threat to China's national security. So Beijing implemented a national security law that clamped down on dissent and restructured the electoral system, allowing only Beijing approved candidates to run and who were required to pass national security background checks. Because of this law introduced in 2019, the Sunday elections saw a dramatic reduction in directly elected seats by nearly 80%. Local officials have described Sunday's vote as completing the last piece of the puzzle for the Patriots only system and six citizens, three of which are pro-democracy activists, were arrested on suspicion of attempting to incite others. It seems that free elections in Hong Kong are dead and it's one country, two systems policy is being gradually replaced to a one country, one system policy.
India Revoked Status of Kashmir
India's Supreme Court has upheld a controversial decision by the Indian government to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the disputed Muslim majority regions should be put on par with other Indian states at the earliest and as soon as possible, with local elections scheduled to be held by the end of September next year. Previously, the special status enshrined in the Indian Constitution as article 370 gave the region a significant degree of autonomy. But in 2019, the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra modi revoked the special status and split Jammu and Kashmir into two federally administrated territories, after which the government imposed a security lockdown and communications blackout to suppress backlash. The move was challenged by more than 20 petitions that argued the Indian Parliament did not have the power to revoke the special status, but the Supreme Court has now rejected this argument, with the Chief Justice saying the state of Jammu and Kashmir does not have internal sovereignty different from other states. Prime Minister Modi, who is seeking re-election next year, celebrated the ruling by calling it a beacon of hope, a promise of a brighter future and a testament to our collective resolve to build a stronger, more united India. The region's former chief minister expressed disappointment but said this isn't the end of the road for us. Our fight for honour and dignity will continue regardless.
Tusk Set to Become Polish PM
Former EU Council president Donald Tusk is set to become Poland's prime minister this week, after an election in October gave a majority to an alliance of pro-EU parties led by Tusk. Poland's current prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, is expected to lose a vote of confidence later today after presenting a new government to the same Poland's lower house of parliament. The same will then nominate its own candidate, expected to be Tusk, who is set to win a confidence vote tomorrow. He could then take office as soon as Wednesday. The scenes have gone down a treat in Poland today, and cinema screens in Warsaw are packed out with people eating popcorn as they watch Poland's transition to a centrist government unfold live. Tusk, who is 66, was previously prime minister of Poland from 2007 to 2014 before becoming EU council president. Tusk's return as prime minister would bring an end to eight years of governance by the right wing populist Law and Justice Party. Tusk's cabinet has already been agreed, and he could also be attending the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday this week as Poland's new leader.