Parties, the beneficiaries of the electoral reform

While the so-called “plan b” of the electoral reform, promoted by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, will reduce the National Electoral Institute (INE) from different fronts, it will be the political parties that obtain the greatest profits with these new regulations.

As established in the new regulations, among the main losses for the INE stands out the elimination of its National Electoral Professional Service; a permanent decentralized structure in the 32 entities and the 300 districts, as well as its Executive General Board in the hands of 300 District Executive Boards.

Only with these modifications, it is warned that not only the preparation of the Electoral Roll, the installation of polling stations and the performance of the vote counts would be put at risk, but also the timely monitoring of all radio and television stations in the country. , the supervision of the activities of political parties and electoral campaigns, and compliance with the obligations aimed at combating Political Violence against Women based on Gender, among other activities that the INE carries out at the district level.

The modifications will affect at least 84.6% of the positions that today make up said career civil service, that is, some 2,500 people.

Limits are also established for the actions of both the INE and the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary (TEPJF) regarding their interpretations and to avoid the undue intervention of these entities in the internal life of political parties; The National Electoral System is created, made up of the concurrent powers of the INE as the governing authority and the Local Public Organizations (OPL) in the federal entities.

What the parties win

On the other hand, for political parties there will be modifications to the norm that, far from impacting them, benefit them.

The changes establish that each party is responsible for the free exercise of its prerogatives and will present the corresponding verification by itself, this applies to processes in which political parties go in coalition.

While INE will continue to be in charge of the control of the electoral registers, however, in case of finding irregularities on the part of the parties in the affiliations, “this verification of the party registers will not give rise to any economic sanction”.

It was also reflected that the parties could maintain their registration with the minimum number of militants required by law and the Constitution.

Sanctions on party entities are reduced, since they will be punished “at all times in proportion to the public financing received by each political party.”

At the same time, the term for parties to report their ordinary expenses is extended for up to 20 years. While the accounting records in real time, related to the pre-campaign and campaign, will have up to 10 days later.

maritza.perez@eleconomista.mx