Former Guatemalan Ambassador: Political Crisis Is Grotesque 3:36

(CNN Spanish) -- The president-elect of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, asked the Organization of American States (OAS) to intervene in the political crisis in his country, where the Public Ministry has raided the facilities of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and confiscated voting records alleging alleged irregularities by the institution and its magistrates.

Arevalo, who is on tour in the United States, participated Tuesday in a forum at the Wilson Center in Washington. During his speech, he said that, in his opinion, in Guatemala there is "what looks like a coup d'état in slow motion" and "a very tense political environment."

The president-elect also considered "unacceptable" the action of the Public Ministry against the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and asked that the OAS intervene in the conflict.

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"It represents a serious alteration of the constitutional order and must be examined by the OAS under Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter," said Arévalo, who over the last few weeks has indicated that the actions of the Public Ministry seek to prevent him from assuming power on January 14, 2024.

It should be recalled that Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter states that, when an OAS member state experiences "an alteration of the constitutional order that seriously affects its democratic order," it may request an immediate meeting of the Permanent Council of the organization to analyze the situation and "adopt the decisions it deems appropriate."

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The Public Ministry argues that criminal legislation empowers them to carry out searches and seizure of evidence since there is an ongoing investigation for possible irregularities in the electoral process.

Arevalo is scheduled to meet Wednesday in Washington with OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro.

Bernardo Arevalo