Presidential Office congratulates César Bernardo Arévalo de León on election as president of the Republic of Guatemala
The Republic of Guatemala held its second round of voting for president and vice president on August 20, with César Bernardo Arévalo de León, the Movimiento Semilla party's presidential candidate, elected as the country's next president. Presidential Office Spokesperson Olivia Lin (林聿禪) said on August 21 that President Tsai Ing-wen offers her sincere congratulations on behalf of the people and government of Taiwan to President-elect Arévalo on his election victory and looks forward to Guatemala's continued prosperity and smooth governance, as well as deeper bilateral exchanges and cooperation between our two countries, under the incoming Arévalo administration.
Spokesperson Lin said that after completing the vote count, Guatemala's Supreme Electoral Tribunal named presidential candidate Mr. Arévalo and vice-presidential candidate Karin Larissa Herrera Aguilar as the election winners with over 58 percent of the vote, and that president-elect Arévalo has already held a press conference where he delivered his acceptance speech.
Spokesperson Lin said that the Presidential Office offers its sincere congratulations to Taiwan's ally Guatemala on a successful democratic election. She added that as soon as the election results were announced, Ambassador to Guatemala Miguel Li-Jey Tsao (曹立傑) conveyed congratulations on behalf of President Tsai, Vice President Lai Ching-te, and the people and government of Taiwan to the president and vice president-elect of Guatemala.
Spokesperson Lin said that President-elect Arévalo visited Taiwan in 1994 during his tenure as Guatemala's deputy minister of foreign affairs, noting that he has a firm grasp of the friendly diplomatic ties between Taiwan and Guatemala. During this year's election campaign, she said, the president-elect expressed numerous times, both publicly and privately, that if elected he would continue to maintain those official ties. She said that Taiwan and Guatemala maintain close, friendly bilateral relations, and that Guatemala is a staunch ally of Taiwan in Latin America that has long spoken up on Taiwan's behalf at international venues, voicing firm support for Taiwan's international participation. The spokesperson said that, based on our shared values of freedom and democracy, and our longstanding friendship, the Taiwan government will build on our strong foundation and work hand in hand with the incoming administration to deepen exchanges and cooperation to further the well-being of our peoples.