In a bid seen as a political maneuver ahead of this year's election, Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom and his wife, First Lady Sandra Torres, have filed for divorce, a top judicial official said Monday.
The divorce is seen by many political observers as a move by the couple that would allow the first lady to run for president. Under Guatemala's Constitution, close family members of the president cannot run for top office.
Although the petition for divorce was confirmed by a judicial officer, Edwin Escobar, presidential spokesman Giusseppe Calvinisti said he had no information concerning the first couple's split.
Fernando Barillas, a leader of the National United Hope party (UNE), which is expected to nominate Torres as its candidate, denied that Colom and his wife were divorcing.
But just hours before Escobar made the announcement, opposition leader Roxanna Baldetti, of the Patriot Party, warned that the couple was planning to officially split so that Torres could run.
Constitutional experts called the maneuver "unethical" and "immoral."
"No president should be allowed to dissolve their marriage. To me, her campaign has just fallen apart because of this immoral act. She is trying to say that marriage, which is the foundation of the family, shouldn't apply to presidential candidates," said lawyer Carlos Molina Mencos.
Escobar said that the couple filed for a divorce on March 11, but he declined to name the president and first lady's lawyers.
Reaction to the news was fierce. "In the first place, it is sad that the love for power has replaced the love of her," said Zury Ríos, a lawmaker from the Frente Republicano Guatemalteco. "One can divorce for many reasons, but to do so for the love of power is inconceivable."
In February, the UNE held its first rally, which Torres attended, with many supporters holding up campaign posters carrying her picture. The election is scheduled for September.
President Colom in 2010
According to judicial spokesman Edwin Escobar, , president of Guatemala, and , the first lady, have applied for a divorce. It is said that the couple, who have been married for eight years, have done so so that Torres can apply for presidency.

The couple applied for divorce on March 11, Escobar said. He says the couple have given mutual consent and did not reveal the names of their lawyers.

Presidential spokesman Giusseppe Calvinisti has denied having any information about the planned divorce.

Before Escobar made the announcement, opposition leader Roxanna Baldetti had warned that the couple were planning to split to let Torres run for the presidency. Many political observers believe the couple filed their request so that Torres can stand to succeed her husband when his term ends in September, as the Guatemalan constitution does not allow close relatives of the president to do so.

Comments on the divorce have ranged from 'unthinkable' to 'a fraud', the latter description by  candidate . According to Perez, the divorce will not let the Torres run for presidency. "The law does not state a time frame of when a person ceases to be a relative of the President."

The  in Guatemala, the highest legal authority that determines the legitimacy of a presidential candidate, is to be taken over by new members in April. Legal experts doubt the impartiality of the new judges. They noticed 'ominous signs of political pressures' that would cause them to defend partisan interests rather than uphold justice.