05/10/2021 13:01
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 05/10/2021 1:13 PM
The Government sent the bill on Monday to postpone the
2021 Legislative elections
-both the Primary and the General- due to the epidemiological situation, after the agreement reached by the ruling party and the opposition.
Now it will be in the hands of Deputies its analysis for subsequent approval.
Last Friday, after a meeting of the Minister of the Interior, Wado de Pedro, with the opposition leaders, there was an agreement to run one month from the date of the elections: the PASO will be on September 12 and the general on November 14.
One day later, officially, the Government called for national elections, in compliance with the National Electoral Code that establishes May 10 as the deadline for the call to the STEP and the general elections.
Now, the text signed by President Alberto Fernández has been sent to Congress, which will have in its hands to give continuity to the project, which will then go to the Senate.
"The world is going through a health crisis caused by COVID-19, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, and which has had, in this regard, various impacts on the realization and the ways of administering the electoral processes held since the beginning of 2020, "the document begins, which also bears the rubrics of De Pedro and the Chief of Cabinet, Santiago Cafiero.
The text remarks that "developing the elections requires the mobilization and participation of people" and that "as the scientific evidence shows," when the virus spreads through contact between individuals, "States have found themselves in need to
adapt its procedures to protect public health,
"while guaranteeing" full validity of political rights. "
Given the latter, the project takes as examples various elections that were postponed around the world, such as in Chile, Bolivia, Poland and the primaries in the United States, among others.
Wado de Pedro with Sergio Massa.
"Currently, Argentina is going through a sharp rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases and new variants of the virus have been detected that bring with them an increase in transmission and spread compared to those existing until the beginning of this year," he adds.
For this reason and because, in addition, the registration of the parties, the beginning of the electoral campaigns and the primary elections coincided with the winter, the text remarks that "it is encouraged to carry out the operational and legal adjustments that allow the elections to be carried out in a sanitary responsible manner. , guaranteeing the right of citizens to vote and that of political groups and their male and female candidates to participate on equal terms ".
"In particular, as established in article 77 of our National Constitution, it is the exclusive power of the Legislative Power to decide the modifications to be made to the electoral system and political parties, which, in addition, must be approved by an absolute majority of the total of the members of both chambers of the HONORABLE CONGRESS OF THE NATION ", he emphasizes.
Finally, it proposes "to postpone the date of the PASO elections and the general elections to the second Sunday in September and the second Sunday in November of this year, respectively."
Wado de Pedro with Sergio Massa and opponents Cristian Ritondo and Mario Negri.
"The proposed dates for the PASO and general elections respect all the deadlines set by the National Electoral Code, with the following exceptions: first, in order to guarantee a sufficient period of time to carry out the definitive scrutiny of the PASO, the project proposes to reduce from FIFTY (50) to FORTY-FIVE (45) days prior to the general election, the deadline for party boards to proclaim their candidates; second, it
postpones the start of the
general election
electoral campaign for FIVE (5) days
to coincide with the proclamation, "he adds.
Finally, it highlights that "the proposed project also allows elections to be held in advance enough for the elected authorities to assume their positions at the expiration of the mandates of the current authorities, in the month of December" and warns that the project was promoted " within a framework in agreement with the parties that make up the majority opposition ".
JPE
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