Venice Commission warns of risks of AMLO’s electoral reform

When making an analysis, at the request of the INE, of the electoral reform initiative proposed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Venice Commission Opined that the proposed system for appointing advisers to the new INEC and magistrates of the Electoral Court “does not provide sufficient guarantees of their independence and impartiality” on campaigns and elections in Mexico.

The Venice Commission is an advisory body of the European Council, made up of independent experts in the field of constitutional law.

In its study, translated from English, the Commission highlighted that the presidential initiative proposes changes aimed at reducing some of the powers of the current INEthe most risky being the link between the directors of the new INEC and the politicians.

“The constitutional reforms reduce INEC’s powers to exercise control over political parties. In addition, the provision explicitly states that the INEC cannot make any decision regarding the leadership of political parties or candidates. The limitation of the faculties of the INEC to intervene during the process of establishing lists of candidates by political parties could be problematic”, he said.

Related Post

The EU reaches agreement to increase the block’s semiconductor production

April 18, 2023

They challenge the suspension of the restructuring of the INE

April 11, 2023

The INE deregistered 5.6 million citizens who have died since 2014

April 7, 2023

INE orders the Presidency to withdraw statements by AMLO in the morning on voting for the opposition

March 30, 2023

The Venice Commission warned that the functions of the INE are so relevant that it is responsible for issuing identity documents, a task that in other countries is usually carried out by other institutions, and also has the task of guaranteeing the neutrality and balance of the media, therefore, removing these functions would imply a problem.

“The Venice Commission wishes to underline that there is an inherent risk in reducing the tasks of the INE because the current powers have proven effective in ensuring democratic elections in the past decade. The goal of reducing administration costs is understandable and legitimate; however, if the powers of the new INEC are less extensive compared to the current electoral body, and some of its tasks are carried out by different State institutions, it is essential that the independence, impartiality, transparency and efficiency of the electoral process must be maintained and be fully guaranteed under the new constitutional design,” he said.

Likewise, after the severe budget cuts that the Morena party has inflicted on the INE since the Chamber of Deputiesthe Venice Commission warned that the independent electoral administration needs adequate funding, especially since the existing structure of the INE and its subdivisions have so far made it possible to plan the expenses of election day with good administration.

The president of the INE, Lorenzo Córdova Vianello, today sent the document of this analysis to various authorities of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, the Judiciary, as well as the national leadership of the political parties.

The detailed analysis

The study recalled that the initiative proposes to change the electoral system in Mexico by reducing the number of legislators in Congress through a single list per state, unlike the current election model of 500 deputies, 300 elected by absolute majority vote in 300 districts. single-member elections. “It seems that the mixed system has served Mexico well so far,” he said.

Regarding the 300 members of the Chamber of Deputies being elected on party lists without the 200 plurinominal seats, but in 32 electoral districts that would correspond to the states, he warned that this would tend to favor the large parties and allow the parties politicians have the upper hand in selecting those candidates who have a chance of being elected. “This gives parties, rather than citizens, more influence over who gets elected,” he warned.

He recalled that currently Senate of the Republic It is made up of 96 seats, three for each federal entity, plus 32 for the national list. He indicated that there is no international standard on which the electoral system is chosen, and it depends on the parliament of a country to decide on a proportional, majority or mixed system.

“The proposed new electoral system could lead to over-representation of large parties and under- or even non-representation of smaller parties. It is true that this was also possible under the current system where a number of seats are covered by one system. It is not clear how the stated goal of the Initiative’s authors of bolstering the legitimacy of legislators can be achieved by reducing the number of members and electing them through a single list per state. The impact of the constitutional change must be further assessed and measured, and a thorough parliamentary and public debate must take place on all the consequences of the amendment. It is appropriate to provide the public with further clarification on how parliamentary seats will be distributed based on recent election results or public opinion polls under the proposed electoral system compared to the existing one.

“If the constitutional reform project of the electoral system in Mexico is approved and the proportional system for elections is introduced, the new electoral management bodies will have to operate in conditions in which the main political parties will play more actively in the selection of candidates and partisan influence during the pre-election period. An additional challenge will consist of guaranteeing equal treatment of smaller parties and independent candidates who will not have the same capacity to mobilize both material and human resources in the absence of public financing”, he asserted.

Regarding the reform proposed to the Electoral Tribunal of the Judicial Power of the Federation, and the possibility of disappearing the INE to create the National Institute of Elections and Referendums (INEC), and that its members be appointed by popular vote based on proposals of Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and head of the Federal Executive, the Venice Commission pointed out that the proposed procedure “is unusual and generates risks for its condition as an impartial body.”

He warned that “the election of the members of the INEC and magistrates of the Electoral Court by popular vote is not consistent with the standards and best electoral practices.”

“The text of the initiative does not include any requirement regarding the technical preparation and qualities of the directors. In addition, it does not establish the rules for the elections to the INEC and the TEPJF. For the Venice Commission, the composition of the electoral management bodies is an essential element for the credibility of the elections”, he referred.

He described as a great concern the suggestion that the electoral advisers campaign. “The members of INEC should not be directly elected, since the will of the voters is political (not technical),” he said.

He said that the proposed system would not allow those who meet the profiles of international standards to apply. “A purely political election could ensure the balanced representation of political parties in the INEC but it would go against the impartiality requirement,” he warned.

He mentioned that the same risks for impartiality and independence are suggested for the election of the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal. “In electoral matters as in other fields, the judiciary, including a specialized electoral jurisdiction, must represent a guarantee of impartiality of the entire process, for which it must offer sufficient guarantees of independence,” he added.

The study mentioned that Code of Good Practices in Electoral Matters of the Venice Commission It establishes that the elections must be organized by an impartial, permanent body and that the political parties can observe their work.

He indicated that during the visit of the rapporteurs of that commission to Mexico from September 21 to 23, a majority of the delegation considered that the constitutional and legal provisions in force in Mexico on electoral matters enshrine the principles of impartiality.

“All the interlocutors agreed that since 2012 there had been a change of regular power as a result of democratic elections,” he stated.

He called for the legislative process of the electoral reform initiative in the Congress of the Union to be marked by the highest levels of transparency and inclusion of opinions.

“The Venice Commission stresses that any electoral system and administration can be improved. However, changing a system and especially an electoral administration that has performed well requires special caution. If the current system and administration are assured of independence, enjoy the trust of the majority of electoral actors and have proven capable of ensuring several consecutive successful electoral cycles, it is imperative that in the new system the electoral management authorities and jurisdictions Specialized agencies must provide at least the same guarantees of independence and must be able to offer at least the same quality of electoral process as their predecessors,” he stressed.

He said that the new legislation must be clear and complete, in addition to complying with international obligations, and must be by broad consensus after extensive public consultations with all interested parties; and with the political commitment to fully apply said legislation in good faith, with adequate procedural and judicial guarantees and the means to promptly evaluate any failure.

jorge.monroy@eleconomista.mx