2023-06-02 21:21:52
Salvador Paiz
In exactly 24 days, Guatemalans will elect the following governors, deputies, municipal authorities and deputies to Parlacén. So soon after this historic day for the future of our nation, the outlook is still uncertain. The electoral contest of 2023 has been characterized by the interference of a stage of “qualifiers” through the judicialization of the process.
It contrasts with the “should be” of the electoral process, where a Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), as the highest authority in electoral matters, leverages its technical rigor and objective parameters to register only suitable candidates. Such candidates and the political vehicles that transport them must comply, both in form and substance, with all applicable processes and regulations to be registered. Given this, if a third party disagrees, he has the right to file the respective legal remedies within the time limits set for this purpose. Finally, the high courts and the TSE must attend to said resources limited by their peremptory terms.
However, in the current electoral contest, Guatemalans are witnessing a process of “eliminations”, which are not necessarily provided for in our electoral process. The fact that the high courts and justice institutions meddle in the democratic race reconfigures the board at midgame. In any case, we must question why the TSE proceeded to register certain vehicles and candidacies when, clearly, there were defects, questions and breaches in said registration applications.
Certainly some events have occurred that conflict with the law, which warrant the cancellation of political parties or the elimination of candidates. However, there are other cases in which the motives appear to be arbitrary or questionable. In the case of Citizen Prosperity, the Constitutional Court found defects in the Assemblies held in November of last year, prior to the starting signal. With this, the participation of its presidential candidate, Carlos Pineda, and a thousand other citizens nominated by that party was cancelled. I wonder then, why were they allowed to register with these vices so clear? Should responsibilities be claimed for those who helped to twist that registration process?
In the case of the political group, VOS, the arguments are very similar to those used to support the actions against Prosperidad Ciudadana. Will only YOU and Prosperidad Ciudadana be the parties that present vices in their Assemblies? What is the reason for the lack of homologation of criteria that are applied to include certain candidates and exclude others?
Unfortunately, in 2019, a strong precedent was set for the elimination of candidates for their own political purposes. It seems that today it is built on that disastrous but effective process of playoffs. There are still 97 legal processes open against various candidates, including one against the presidential candidate Edmond Mulet. The reality is that the criteria have not been applied to all candidates in the same way, nor is the same speed of persecution perceived. Hopefully our institutions and high courts are governed by due process and that they act to protect the electoral process.
With just 24 days to go, it seems to me that it would not be advisable to continue with “eliminatory” legal processes, since this will only continue to reduce the certainty of our electoral process.
The call is for the candidates to compete on the merits of their proposals and their candidacies, and not resort to artificial crutches. In addition, no candidate can be deprived of their participation, unless reliable evidence of non-compliance with requirements, commission of an electoral crime or total lack of suitability is presented.
Just this week the final arts of the ballots were approved, so you can start printing them. What will happen if one of those 97 open processes cancels a candidate (presidential, municipal, etc.) or even a party? At this point, we must move from the knockout phase to the election phase. 24 days before the elections, additional eliminations should not be allowed in our legal-electoral system. This does not mean that the investigations should continue once the political contest is concluded.
But that’s not all that worries. According to the latest report from the Guatemalan Electoral Observation Mission (MOE), 90 percent of the members of the Departmental Electoral Boards (JED) and the Municipal Electoral Boards (JEM) have no experience in managing elections.
Added to this is a poor perception of the TSE. According to the observation in social networks carried out by the MOE, the once good reputation of the TSE now accumulates 45 percentage points against it. This, surely, derived from the initial setbacks in terms of certain acquisitions. In addition to this, the EOM has highlighted the lack of citizen interest in the electoral process. Despite the calls to participate from the TSE, the goal of volunteers to support the electoral process has not been reached.
All of this combines to feed that feeling of vulnerability of the electoral process. Much of what we are now seeing was noticed at the time and is a direct consequence of the terrible electoral reform of 2016. If we can take something from this experience, it is that, immediately after the electoral event, we must resume the discussion on the regulatory framework that governs our choices.
We cannot lose hope or abdicate our important role. The role of citizens, in any democracy, is to defend the integrity of the electoral process. We must ensure that the institutions adhere to the established laws and regulations. We must also have an active role in the process, be it participating as observers, volunteers, table prosecutors, or as citizens exercising the important act of voting. Our vote matters and will determine the future of our nation.
Let’s live this civic day as it should be and let’s ensure its protection. it’s just ours
democracy that is at stake.
#Lets #playoffs #elections