Guatemalans protest candidate ban

Thousands of people demonstrated in Guatemala to protest a court’s decision not to allow an indigenous candidate to register for the country’s June 25 presidential elections

Thousands of people demonstrated in Guatemala Tuesday to protest a court’s decision not to allow an indigenous candidate to register for the country's June 25 presidential elections.

Protesters blocked at least 15 local highways, demanding that the leftist candidate be allowed to run. Thelma Cabrera was to have been the presidential candidate for the leftist Peoples Liberation Movement, or MLP.

The dispute arose when Guatemala’s electoral tribunal ruled that former human rights official Jordán Rodas cannot be the vice presidential candidate for MLP because he allegedly did not have a letter certifying he had no legal cases pending against him.

Because he was part of the MLP ticket, Cabrera apparently can't run either, despite the fact that some other candidates have been allowed to register to run even though they have pending cases.

Rodas has argued that the requirement is not mentioned in the Constitution.