World IN BRIEF : GUATEMALA : Tribunal Rejects Call for a New Congress

The eight-member Supreme Electoral Tribunal unanimously rejected as unconstitutional President Jorge Serrano’s request to call elections for a new Congress to replace the 116-member body he dissolved when he declared a state of emergency Tuesday. Tribunal President Arturo Herbruger said the tribunal cannot legally schedule such an election because of Serrano’s suspension of 46 articles of the constitution. With the Congress and the Supreme Court shut down, the tribunal remains one of the last constitutional institutions still standing after Serrano’s move. Its refusal to approve his request further erodes the legitimacy of his current government.