The previous proposal for reforms to the Electoral and Political Parties Law (Lepp) did not pass in Congress. This year, the judges of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) warn that it is urgent to modify the law to avoid another electoral crisis like the one in 2023.
The Electoral Update and Modernization Commission (CAME) received 1,256 reform proposals, which were discussed between political parties and representatives of civil society.
Last year’s voting event, which resulted in the victory of the current presidential duo, was surrounded by legal actions. In fact, four of the five TSE magistrates are subject to criminal proceedings.
The proposal for reforms to Lepp that the previous CAME promoted did not resonate in the Legislature, which meant that last year’s electoral event was held with outdated regulations that were modified in 2016.
This year, CAME held six round tables to address the proposals. Among some suggestions is the strengthening of the TSE, improving the filter for creating political parties, changing the electoral pattern and making a clear difference between proselytism and early campaigning.
Among the problems left by the 2023 event was the criminal case for the purchase of the Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission system (Trep), a tool that in the opinion of the Public Ministry (MP) was overvalued and might have incurred a possible alteration of data.
The investigation continues to this date, despite the fact that all elected citizens have already taken office. But the magistrates consider it necessary to shield the rule to avoid all those doubts regarding the 2023 votes.
Date of delivery
Now, the specialized personnel of the TSE will be in charge of systematizing the proposals so that the Electoral Plenary evaluates which ones are optimal, viable and do not clash with the Political Constitution of the Republic itself.
Blanca Alfaro, presiding judge of the TSE, said that they hope that everything goes as planned to deliver the bill to Congress in the coming weeks.
“If everything goes well, have it in the second week of April. Transfer the proposal to Congress, because the Lepp is urgent,” Alfaro said. A tentative date that is handled internally by the electoral body is Friday, April 12.
“At the end of all these discussions, the TSE with its technical secretariat team, which already did so in 2019, will have to accelerate the approach and pass what is considered in a law reform proposal,” added Alfaro, al explain the procedure for preparing the document.
Although there are some points that may not be addressed in the bill, they will also be delivered to Congress. So that the legislative commission in charge of the eventual ruling also has access to the data.
“We will also send the complete matrix to the Congress of the Republic so that the deputies can make the consensus. The deputies will analyze it in the Electoral Affairs Commission,” he added.
Urgent
Two of the four magistrates facing criminal proceedings for the purchase of the Trep system gave their opinion on future reforms. They emphasize that they are necessary to avoid a voting event crisis like the one experienced last year.
The above left hundreds of legal appeals in the different Courts of the country, more than 20 criminal proceedings opened by investigations by three prosecutor’s offices and doubts regarding the results of one of the cases, which in the opinion of agents of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (Feci ), are not entirely clear.
“If this reform – of 2020 – had been completed, we would not have had many shortcomings in the 2023 electoral process. It is necessary and essential to analyze the proposals that have already been made,” said Judge Mynor Franco.
The proposal of the previous CAME was delivered to Congress when he was president of the TSE. Franco regretted that the deputies did not give due importance to this initiative.
“The modifications are necessary. We presented that bill to modify the Electoral and Political Parties Law, it was the expression of society that was collected for these proposals, that is why they are necessary,” he recalled.
For Rafael Rojas, another of the magistrates appointed by the MP, the work of electoral reforms is vital, since they have to integrate the expression of different sectors, some opposed, in an initiative that strengthens the democratic system.
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