Poder Ciudadano will collect signatures for a constitutional reform starting next July 4

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June 21, 2026June 21, 2026By Mario Vásquez
Poder Ciudadano will collect signatures for a constitutional reform starting next July 4

In 15 days, the reception of signatures will begin to support a bill in Congress, which seeks to promote changes to the Constitution in matters of justice.

The initiative is promoted by Poder Ciudadano, a civil association that was born after this year’s second-degree elections, to find a solution to the problems that were identified in the renewal of authorities.

The founders of the association and who lead the process of constitutional reforms are Edgar Ortiz and Marjorie von Ahn, he a lawyer who is an expert in constitutional issues and she is a businesswoman and communicator.

Among the proposals for constitutional reforms in matters of justice, they seek to eliminate the process of nomination commissions, which, according to organizations and monitoring groups, has shown deterioration over the years.

They also seek that the deputies no longer intervene in the appointment of the judges of the Court of Appeals, as well as to extend the number and term of the judges of the Constitutional Court (CC).

The above is to avoid a total renovation of the country’s highest Court and make a division by chambers, similar to how the Supreme Court of Justice currently exists.

The way to promote this reform is through a bill that they plan to present to Congress in the month of September, but to do so they need, at least, the signature of 5,000 registered citizens.

In the event that social support is gathered, and that the deputies process and approve the law, the final decision is the responsibility of the population, which must decide through a popular consultation.

Poder Ciudadano considers that to avoid an expense for the country, the eventual consultation coincides with the general elections of 2027, so that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) prints one more ballot for this vote.

The signatures

Lawyer Edgar Ortiz explained in an interview that Poder Ciudadano will seek 5,000 signatures and to date they already have a good number of volunteers with a presence in most of the country.

We are 15 days away from Poder Ciudadano beginning to seek signatures for the constitutional reform in matters of justice. What are the logistics or event planned for that 4th of July?

On July 4, members of Poder Ciudadano and volunteers will be in parks in the majority of departmental capitals and in other municipalities in the country, collecting signatures and explaining the proposal to the public. The idea is that, from that day on, citizens can learn about the initiative, resolve their doubts and formally support the proposal for constitutional reform in matters of justice.

Will they have a presence in the 22 departments of the country?

At the moment we have a presence in 17 of the 22 departments of the country. However, we hope to continue growing as the days go by and expand our territorial coverage as more people join the effort.

Have you received comments to modify the reform initiative?

Yes, we have received many comments. The majority have been very positive, and we have also received contributions that enrich the process. These comments have come both in the meetings we have held with key actors and through the open form that we made available to the public on our website. Before going out into the field we will make the adjustments that we consider important to strengthen the proposal.

How many volunteers do you have so far?

We already have almost 200 volunteers in the country, and the number continues to grow through our website,poderciudadano.gt. Interested people can sign up there to volunteer and join this citizen effort.

How can I identify the volunteers who are going to request signatures to avoid giving my support to another type of proposal? Will the volunteers have a uniform?

Our volunteers will be identified with a Citizen Power badge. In addition, they will have in their hands the official folders in which the signatures will be collected in each territory of the country. This will allow citizens to clearly identify that this is the Citizen Power initiative.

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