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GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala's Constitutional Court has ruled against the presidential candidacy of former top prosecutor Thelma Aldana, a court official said Wednesday.
Aldana is known as an anti-corruption crusader whose prosecutions sent then-President Otto Pérez Molina and others to prison.
The ruling came on a 6-1 vote against Aldana's appeal of a lower court decision, said Martín Guzmán, the court secretary.
The court's reasoning followed that of lower courts, which noted that Aldana did not possess what is essentially a certification for public officials upon leaving office that confirmed all of her public accounts were settled.
The 63-year-old Aldana said via Twitter that the court's decision pushed the country toward a precipice.
"It has become evident that the fight against corruption and our country's criminal structures has a very high cost for those who like me decide to do it," she wrote. She promised to continue the fight.
Aldana registered her candidacy for the June 16 elections in March. Three challenges were made to the Supreme Electoral Court, which denied her candidacy.
The Supreme Court then denied her request for an injunction and now the Constitutional Court has denied her appeal.
Aldana was in El Salvador when a Guatemalan judge issued a warrant for her arrest in March, and she has not returned home. Her lawyer says she fears for her safety. On Wednesday, she posted a photo of herself in Miami's airport to Twitter.
Last week, prosecutors announced they had opened an investigation of that judge for allegedly taking bribes.
The previous court rulings against her were based in part on the arrest warrant against her. Authorities said that case involved alleged abnormalities in her hiring of personnel while in office.
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