Mexico City [Mexico], August 31: Guatemala's outgoing president Alejandro Giammattei has initiated the transition process to future president Bernardo Arevalo's government, who was declared the winner of the country's elections on Monday.
Giammattei on Tuesday invited the newly elected team to a first meeting early next week, despite numerous attempts by the judiciary to prevent the handover to the progressive, anti-corruption candidate.
Arevalo is due to take office in January 14.
Arevalo, of the leftist MovimientoSemilla (Seed Movement) party, won the run-off on August 20 with 60.91 percent of the votes, announced the Supreme Electoral Court on Monday. The former first-lady Sandra Torres, considered a representative of the establishment, has so far not acknowledged her defeat, though she only came to 39.09 percent.
The election process was overshadowed by attempts by the political elite and the attorney general's office to stop 64-year-old Arevalo's ascent by legal means. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune