OAS Special Mission in Guatemala Calls for a Transparent, Timely and Merit-Based Process to Select the Comptroller General of Accounts

Press Release

OAS Special Mission in Guatemala Calls for a Transparent, Timely and Merit-Based Process to Select the Comptroller General of Accounts

The Special Mission of the Organization of American States for the Strengthening of Democratic Institutions in Guatemala takes note of the start of the process to elect the Comptroller General for the 2026-2030 term, in accordance with Articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala. This process is part of the second-degree elections that the Mission is monitoring within the framework of its mandate, along with the appointments already made of the Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor's Office, magistrates of the Constitutional Court, and magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

The Mission notes that the Office of the Comptroller General plays an essential role in ensuring accountability, transparency, and oversight of the use of public resources. Under the Guatemalan constitutional framework, the Office of the Comptroller General has oversight functions regarding revenues, expenditures, and all fiscal matters of State bodies, municipalities, decentralized and autonomous entities, as well as individuals or entities that receive public funds.

Similarly, the Mission takes note of public information indicating that on June 2, the Congress of the Republic formally issued a call for nominations to form the Nominating Committee, with the purpose of electing the new head of the Comptroller's Office for the 2026-2030 term. In this regard, it reiterates the importance of ensuring that the process proceeds within constitutional and legal timeframes, avoiding delays that could unduly compress the stages of evaluation, background checks, receipt of public objections, interviews, and deliberation.

Given the nature of its responsibilities, the election of the head of the Comptroller General's Office has a direct impact on democratic quality, transparency, public trust, and the integrity of public service. The Comptroller General of Accounts heads the institution, exercises jurisdiction over its departments, appoints and removes officials, approves government control policies and regulations, formalizes audit reports, and imposes sanctions within the scope of their authority. Furthermore, their powers include granting the settlements established by other laws, a matter that takes on particular sensitivity in pre-election contexts.

The Mission also emphasizes that public trust in this process depends largely on the legitimacy, independence, and credibility of the members of the Nominating Committee. Pursuant to Article 233 of the Constitution, this Committee is chaired by a representative of the rectors of the country's universities. The Mission notes that the tenure of the rector of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC) continues to be the subject of questions arising from the rector election process. In this context, it observes that the representation of the rectors as a group on the Nominating Committee reflects a collective representation of the university system and not of any particular institution.

Without prejudice to the decisions to be taken by the competent authorities, the Mission considers that, in processes of high institutional significance, it is particularly important to preserve the conditions that help strengthen public trust and the perception of legitimacy of the bodies responsible for the selection process. This consideration takes on greater importance when it comes to processes aimed at strengthening the independence and credibility of institutions that are fundamental to accountability and the oversight of public administration.

Along the same lines, the Mission notes that the constitutional framework of the Nominating Committee calls for the participation of the deans of the schools offering programs in Public Accounting and Auditing at every university in the country. This approach is based on the premise that each participating institution is a fully functioning university with verifiable academic activity, a faculty and student body, and its own infrastructure. In this regard, the Mission considers it appropriate to reflect, with due transparency, on the appropriateness of the participation of recently established institutions for which there is no public evidence of known facilities, an actual student body, or a verifiable academic track record in the aforementioned program. The inclusion of entities that do not verifiably meet these requirements could distort the Committee's representativeness, artificially alter its composition, and undermine the legitimacy of the selection process. For this reason, the Mission calls for the verification of the suitability of the institutions invited to join the Committee to be conducted in accordance with applicable constitutional and legal criteria, with adherence to objectivity, transparency, and the public interest.

The Mission will continue to monitor the selection process for the Comptroller General and will maintain communication with government authorities, professional associations, universities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous communities, women's organizations, the media, and other relevant stakeholders. The selection of an independent, technically competent official committed to accountability will be an important step toward strengthening democratic institutions in Guatemala.

Reference: E-070/26