Presidency receives list of six candidates and outlines a date to appoint attorney general

Home News Presidency receives list of six candidates and outlines a date to appoint attorney general
Presidency receives list of six candidates and outlines a date to appoint attorney general

This Tuesday, April 21, the General Secretariat of the Presidency received the files of the six candidates proposed by the Nomination Commission for the position of attorney general of the Republic and head of the Public Ministry (MP), official sources reported.

The delivery was carried out in accordance with the constitutional procedure, according to which the President of the Republic must designate the holder from the list sent.

“In effect, the payroll has already been received at the General Secretariat of the Presidency,” reported the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency.

“The change will be made on May 17, so probably in the previous week we will know who the designated person is,” said Juan Gerardo Guerrero Garnica, secretary general of the Presidency, in a video released by the Secretariat of Social Communication.

The Nomination Commission for Attorney General and Head of the MP for the period 2026-2030 elected on Monday, April 20, the lawyers Beyla Estrada Barrientos, Julio Rivera Clavería, César Ávila Aparicio, Gabriel García Luna, Néctor de León Ramírez and Zoila Morales Validzón to integrate the list sent to the Executive.

The selection of the six candidates, from a total of 79 applicants, was carried out by a commission made up of deans of the Law faculties of the country’s universities, representatives of the College of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala and the president of the Supreme Court of Justice and the Judicial Branch, Claudia Paredes Castañeda.

President Bernardo Arévalo de León stated, prior to the integration of the payroll, that he hopes that the new attorney general “does not sponsor the corrupt.”

He also pointed out that a head of the MP is needed who “persecutes criminals”, at the head of “a serious institution” that “defends the interests of Guatemala.”

The new attorney general will assume a four-year term starting May 16 and must be appointed this month, after personal interviews with the candidates.

Among the candidates who did not advance to the final list are Marco Antonio Villeda, Minister of the Interior, and Julio Roberto Saavedra Pinetta, Attorney General of the Nation.

The current attorney general, Consuelo Porras, did reach the voting stage; However, despite his high score, he did not obtain the necessary support from the commissioners and was left off the final list.

With information from EFE

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