Guatemala City.- The Guatemalan Commission for the Nomination of the Attorney General approved this Friday a new list of six candidates to hold the position during the period 2026-2030, following an order from the Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, which forced a repeat of the evaluation of the files.
The new list, which will be sent to President Bernardo Arévalo de León for the election, underwent a key change with the exclusion of lawyer Zoila Morales Valdizón, who, according to various analysts, was the candidate with the most support to be appointed by the president, compared to others with blemishes on their record in the wake of the current attorney general, Consuelo Porras, accused of corruption.
Instead of Morales Valdizón, the Nomination Commission voted for Carlos Alberto García Alvarado, current prosecutor of the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office), who managed to join the final list.
The Election of the Attorney General in Guatemala
The re-evaluation of the 48 applicants arises after the highest court annulled the first selection, pointing out that the professional experience of some judges was erroneously accredited to integrate the list of candidates seeking to lead the Public Ministry in the next four years.
Integrantes de la Comisión de Postulación asisten a la elección de la nómina de candidatos a fiscal general de Guatemala y Jefe del Ministerio Público para el período 2026-2030 tras una orden de la Corte de Constitucionalidad, máximo tribunal del país, que obligó a repetir la evaluación de los expedientes este viernes, en Ciudad de Guatemala (Guatemala). EFE/ Mariano Macz
The final selections are Julio César Rivera Clavería, Néstor Guilebaldo de León, Beyla Estrada Barrientos, Gabriel Estuardo García Luna, Carlos Alberto García Alvarado and César Augusto Ávila Aparicio.
In this second vote, the current Attorney General, Consuelo Porras, sanctioned by the United States and the European Union under accusations of corruption and undermining democracy, was once again left out for not exceeding the five votes of support.
Questionings
During the session, the commissioners emphasized that the official letter to forward the list to President Arévalo de León must reflect that the process strictly adheres to the mandate of the highest court.
La presidenta de la Comisión de Postulación, Claudia Paredes (c), participa en la elección de la nómina de candidatos a fiscal general de Guatemala y Jefe del Ministerio Público para el período 2026-2030 tras una orden de la Corte de Constitucionalidad, máximo tribunal del país, que obligó a repetir la evaluación de los expedientes este viernes, en Ciudad de Guatemala (Guatemala). EFE/ Mariano Macz
In fact, the new process to integrate the final payroll was carried out despite the fact that various commissioners questioned the criterion of the constitutional court, which ruled that the career as a judge does not count as professional experience to apply for this position.
President Arévalo de León, who maintains an open dispute with Porras over her attempts to interfere in the 2023 election results, will have until May 16 to designate the new head of the Public Ministry from among the proposed names.
