Maldonado also asked the government to do all to prepare for the transition before the next president takes over in January, saying the current cabinet should be ready to resign at any time to aid the transition, local daily Republica reported.
Maldonado made his first cabinet change, asking Alfredo Pimentel, secretary of Administrative Affairs and Security, to step down in favor of Juan Jose Recinos.
He also nominated Raquel Zelaya, Alfonso Fuentes Soria, and Gabriel Medrano as vice presidential candidates. The Congress will vote on which of the three should assume the role the next few days.
Maldonado further announced that his presidential salary would be entirely donated to charities helping the elderly.
Guatemala is set to hold presidential elections on Sunday to pick a successor to former President Otto Perez Molina, who resigned from his position Thursday and was subsequently jailed for his involvement in a customs fraud ring.
Maldonado was chosen to serve as vice president in mid-May, after Perez Molina's vice president Roxana Baldetti was forced to step down amid allegations of corruption linked to the same scheme that brought down the president.
Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
5/9/15
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Jailed Guatemala ex-leader denies corruption charges...
ReplyDeleteGuatemala's former president has appeared in court after spending his first night in prison.
Otto Perez Molina, 64, rejected allegations that he was the mastermind of a customs corruption scheme dubbed La Linea, or The Line.
At least 100 people are being investigated over the scheme.
A judge in Guatemala City ordered his detention on Thursday while hearings over the corruption allegations took place.
After Friday's second day of hearings, Mr Perez Molina was again taken from court to a military prison in the capita.
Mr Perez Molina addressed the court on Friday.
"The first thing I want to deny: I don't belong to La Linea," he said.
He denied taking any bribes and promised to co-operate with the investigation.
"Your honour, I am not going to risk my dignity, my work, nor all the effort I have made for Guatemala in return for $800,000,'' he said, in reference to the amount prosecutors say he received illegally.
Investigators say the scheme involved businesses paying bribes to government officials and customs officers in return for being allowed to evade import duties.
Drug lord
Mr Perez Molina reminded the court that he had rejected much higher bribe offers from the fugitive Mexican drug lord, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman in 1993.
Mr Perez Molina led the operation that led to his arrest in Guatemala.
"After his capture, I was offered 10, 15 times more than that amount in bribes [to let him go]. I didn't do it because that goes against my principles," he said......................http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-34161085
5/9/15
Guatemala in turmoil ahead of Sunday's election...
ReplyDeleteThe wave of political turmoil that toppled Guatemala's president will overshadow Sunday's vote to elect a new leader in an election many fear could put a lid on the anti-corruption drive.
On Friday, former president Otto Perez Molina sat in a defendant's chair and denied prosecutors' allegations that he was involved in a conspiracy to defraud the state by letting businesses evade import duties in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes.
Perez Molina said he could have made "10 or 15 times" the amount he is accused of stealing if he had taken bribes once offered him by powerful Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
"The first thing I want to deny, I don't belong to 'La Linea,'" Perez Molina said, referring to the name of the fraud scheme, Spanish for "The Line."
The judge hearing Perez Molina's case must now decide whether there is enough evidence to charge the former leader, and if so, whether he should await trail in jail.
Tens of thousands who demonstrated for the toppling of Perez Molina got part of their wishes when the president resigned to face possible corruption charges in a customs fraud scheme. He was spending the weekend in a military lockup. But a second major demand was not met: the postponement of the election that many said offered little alternative to the old guard.
Alejandro Maldonado, a 79-year-old conservative who only became vice president in May, will serve out the rest of Perez Molina's term, handing over on January 14...................http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/guatemala-150905045133524.html
5/9/15
Statement by the Spokesperson on the situation in Guatemala (EEAS 04.09.15)...
ReplyDeleteFollowing President Otto Perez Molina's decision yesterday to resign in order to confront the accusations levelled against him, the swift appointment of the new President Alejandro Maldonado is an important step to ensure that constitutional order is upheld at this crucial moment for Guatemala.
The first round of the general elections this coming weekend will allow the Guatemalan people to choose their representatives in a democratic renewal of the country's political institutions. The EU continues to support the electoral authorities in their efforts to ensure a transparent and orderly electoral process.
In line with our commitments to the principles and standards of Rule of Law and Human Rights, the EU will also continue to support the judicial institutions in Guatemala.
http://eeas.europa.eu/statements-eeas/2015/150904_02_en.htm