The plenary session of magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) presented the 2027 electoral calendar He detailed each of the phases of the 2027 event; However, the representatives of the political parties who were present at the revelation of dates hope that the new magistracy can correct the “errors” that the previous Court made in holding the 2023 General Elections.
The planned programming indicates January 22, 2027 as the day on which the call for the 2027 General Elections will be made, and the registration period for candidates for elected positions opens, from the first minute of January 23.
The electoral event includes the presidential binomial elections; the new magistracy of the Congress of the Republic, the election of the 340 municipal corporations and the bench of deputies that represent the country before the Central American Parliament (Parlacén).
The proximity of the electoral event makes some groups remember the obstacles that the TSE had in the 2023 elections, when the plenary session was chaired by Irma Palencia.
The TSE received constant complaints from the national prosecutors of the political parties because the electronic systems did not allow the quick registration of the different candidates; There were also direct complaints towards some of the Electoral Boards.
In 2023, the Electoral Board of the Central District (JEDC) and the Electoral Board of the Department of Guatemala (JEDG) sought the purchase of a preliminary vote counting system, which generated rejection among political parties.
The purchase of the Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission (TREP) system also generated criticism, for which the TSE paid Q148 million. The acquisition of this system cost four of the five TSE magistrates a criminal case.
These facts stand out from the preparations for the previous elections, and support the fears expressed by some representatives of political parties who hope that the current authorities will plan the actions to be carried out and guarantee a transparent and efficient process.
Respect the calendar
For some political parties, it is necessary for the TSE to clearly define the work to be carried out and comply with the electoral calendar presented, since having to alter this programming would give a bad message about the direction of the efforts.
“Instead of hiring and promoting, because I see a lot of new people here, I would say that we focus more on seeing how we are prepared for the next electoral process,” said Delia Bac, general secretary of the Green Political Party.
For Bac, who has been a deputy of the Congress of the Republic, and has competed in other electoral events, the rotation of personnel in the TSE so soon after the elections were called raises doubts; He even fears that these changes could work against the planning presented last week.
“I see that there are many new people, including the judges. This electoral process is going to be complicated, there are too many political parties that are going to participate, this has happened in all Latin American countries, but we must be prepared, and I have the feeling that we are not,” he indicated.
Adolfo García, titular representative of the URNG–Maíz party, considers it essential that the TSE can now coordinate in a good way, among its different bodies, to avoid setbacks or errors from previous processes.
“The priority must be developed in terms of carrying out the electoral schedule, they have already given it to us and we hope that it comes to a successful conclusion. The TSE already has the budget expansion, now they must develop that proposed schedule,” said García.
For his part, Luis Rodríguez, titular representative of the Vamos party, believes that the calendar presented should be taken as a promise to be kept. “They are fulfilling the priority of the TSE. They are defining clear dates for the electoral process, with that we will have an organization and respect the times,” he added.
Registration and transparency
In the 2023 process, another of the inconveniences reported by some political parties along with the different electoral observation missions was the refusal to register some candidates, which affected different political organizations.
For Leslie Lemus Lemus, substitute representative of the Servir political party, it is vital that the TSE does not make exclusions again. “The priority of the TSE is to guarantee the participation of all candidates,” he insisted.
He adds that what should not happen again is “barring the right to participate” to the different citizens who seek to run for elected office in 2027.
Horalia Tomás, substitute representative of the Winaq party, places transparency in all the decisions it makes, as well as its different agencies, as a priority of the work of the current TSE, this if what they seek is to recover citizen trust in the process, which was greatly worn down by the 2023 process.
“We are in a cyclical moment, within the framework of the 2027 elections, that is why we consider that the new magistrates will have a very important role, as they are the governing body in electoral matters, they have to be transparent and in accordance with the principle of equality and equity with all political parties,” added Tomás.
IT tools
One of the points that was most questioned by the TSE was related to computer systems, which generated problems in candidate registration issues, even generating distrust in some sectors, in the projection of preliminary results.
“At this time, the programming of the electoral event must be reviewed very carefully so that each of the phases of the process are fulfilled, so that, mainly, it is determined which will be the computer system that will be used for the dissemination of the preliminary results,” said Miriam Cárdenas, head representative of the Unionist Party.
For Cárdenas, this issue is of vital importance, because “it could not be mentioned as an error, but it was the result of a decision to purchase a system that in the long run they did not know how it would give the results. The system was not bad, but the management of the information was bad.”
Secretary Bac also sees the computer issue as a priority. “The last electoral process, as everyone said, was a flawed process, it was a process with the famous TREP and those situations that occurred that to this day the population believes was a process that the party that won should not have won, in other words.”
For Pedro Reina, deputy secretary of the ALL political party, this operational part of the TSE must be resolved now, to prevent citizen support for political parties from being affected by affiliation processes.
“This has hindered certain processes and the proclamation assemblies are coming, for that we must have a large number of members where we now have greater representation, but the work of membership is hindered by these issues,” he indicated.
Independence
For representatives of the URNG – Maíz and Vamos parties, it is vital that the TSE is an independent institution, since it will be the one who coordinates the country’s next voting event.
“In my opinion, the TSE in 2023 granted a lot of its competence to other institutions, there was a lot of interference. In the face of the next elections, the TSE must have a firm position in its functions,” said García from URNG – Maíz.
For his part, Rodríguez, titular representative of the Vamos party, believes that the TSE must show independence in all areas, “if I suggest that for this election everything is transparency and that there be no foreign interference in the issue of the elections.”
They prepare
The plenary session of magistrates recently explained that they activated the electoral management table, with which they seek to ensure that all TSE bodies are in harmony to comply with all preparations for the 2027 elections.
“As of June 23, the flag was given with all the institutions of the TSE to be in charge of the processes in which we are in accordance with the electoral calendar, so that it is developed in a correct manner,” explained the titular magistrate Roberto Morales.
The official added that this also seeks to avoid and reduce as much as possible any scenario of possible electoral conflict, which each of the magistrates evaluates in their regions.
“We have considered that the Electoral Institute develops its training process at all levels, we also have contact with the Forum of Rectors; and the Judicial Body, for the Conflict Resolution Unit,” he explained.