Guatemalan ex-president in court after resigning

Yahoo – AFP, Katell Abiven, 3 Sep 2015

Guatemalan former President Otto Perez speaks during a hearing at the Tribunal

of Justice in Guatemala City on September 3, 2015 (AFP Photo/Johan Ordonez)

Guatemala City (AFP) - Guatemalan ex-president Otto Perez appeared in court Thursday over corruption allegations, hours after he resigned following unprecedented protests that have upended the political scene three days from elections.

The conservative leader sent his resignation to Congress just before midnight Wednesday, after lawmakers voted unanimously to strip him of his presidential immunity -- a first in Guatemalan history.

A man holds a sign reading "Peace" after 

Congress voted unanimously to strip

 embattled President Otto Perez's immunity

 in Guatemala City, on September 1, 2015

(AFP Photo/Johan Ordonez)

A judge issued a warrant for his arrest in the hours that followed, leaving him little choice but to quit.

Thursday's hearing could see the 64-year-old remanded in custody pending trial -- a decision that would in any case have automatically removed him from office under Guatemalan law.

"I'm calm and I will face the situation bravely, because I've done nothing wrong," Perez told a local radio station before his appearance at the Supreme Court, where he sported a dark suit, a red tie and a haggard look on his face.

The retired general stepped down after clinging to power through months of mounting protests.

Investigators accuse Perez of running a scheme that allowed businesses to pay bribes in exchange for illegal discounts on import duties.

Guatemalans fed up with corruption erupted in celebration outside the Supreme Court early Thursday on the news of Perez's resignation.

"Otto, you thief, you're going to Pavon!" they chanted, referring to one of the country's main prisons.

People hold signs reading "Two-feet rats. I am speaking to you" and "The people

 cry blood because of your treason" as they demonstrate to demand the Guatemalan

 president's resignation over a corruption scandal, August 27, 2015, in Guatemala 

City (AFP Photo/Orlando Sierra)

"It's what the people wanted. There's no doubt the president was involved," said Pamela Saravia, an unemployed 34-year-old who was beating a tambourine outside the court.

Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, who joined the celebrations in Constitution Square, called on the protesters to "continue this social movement with courage and maturity."

Thousands have taken to the streets in protest since the scandal first erupted in April, on a scale never before seen in Guatemala.

The accusations have stoked outrage in the Central American country of 15 million people, 53.7 percent of whom live in poverty, where the scars are still fresh from a 36-year civil war that ended in 1996.

Veep to be sworn in

Congress met Thursday morning to officially accept Perez's resignation.

People celebrate Otto Perez's resignation

 during a rally outside the Presidential 

Palace in Guatemala City, on September 3,

 2015 (AFP Photo/Rodrigo Arangua)

Lawmakers were then expected to convene an emergency session to swear in Vice President Alejandro Maldonado, who will hold power until an elected successor takes office on January 14.

Maldonado, a 79-year-old lawyer and former Constitutional Court judge, only assumed the vice presidency in May.

His predecessor, Roxana Baldetti, also resigned over the scandal, and is currently in jail awaiting trial on charges of taking some $3.8 million in bribes between May 2014 and April 2015.

The scandal was uncovered by investigators from a United Nations commission tasked with fighting high-level graft in Guatemala, who say they found massive evidence that Perez orchestrated a scheme dubbed "La Linea" (The Line), named for the hotline that importers would allegedly call to access a network of corrupt officials.

Investigators say their accusations are based on some 89,000 wire-tapped phone calls.

Perez, a former military intelligence officer, long rejected calls to resign before his term ended. In office since 2012, he was ineligible for re-election, and would have handed over to his successor in January.

But his increasing isolation and the justice system's relentless pursuit ultimately left him little room to maneuver.

Barred from leaving the country, he failed in his bid to challenge the proceedings against him before the country's highest court.

Jimmy Morales, Guatemalan presidential candidate for the National Front of 

Convergence party, speaks during a campaign rally in Mataquescuintla municipality, 

Jalapa department, on August 28, 2015 (AFP Photo/Orlando Estrada)

Tensions ahead of election

The UN investigative commission has also uncovered separate corruption schemes implicating the heads of the central bank and social security administration, leading to their arrests.

The climate in Guatemala is jubilant but tense heading into Sunday's elections, which will also choose the members of the 158-seat legislature and 338 mayors.

The UN warned Wednesday there was a risk of violent protests on voting day.

Rights groups have reported cases of political party activists attacking protesters, and some 10 candidates were murdered between March and August.

In a sign of Guatemalans' exasperation with politics as usual, a poll published Thursday found the leading candidate in Sunday's presidential vote is now actor Jimmy Morales, whose previously underdog campaign is his first foray into politics.

The poll gave Morales 25-percent support, ahead of the former front-runner, right-wing lawyer Manuel Baldizon (22.9 percent), and former first lady Sandra Torres (18.4 percent).

The three candidates will likely battle it out for the two spots in a runoff on October 25.