Fernando Tuesta: It is almost impossible to hold elections with political reform

Former leader National Directorate of Electoral Processes (ONPE) Fernando Tuesta Soldevilla pointed out that it is practically impossible to hold a general election for 2023 if you intend to hold a series political reforms which open the pre-election offer. He also clarified that, despite the fact that he did not believe that the bill would be approved in Congress, he did not expect such little support from parliamentarians.

“After the speech of the Congress, one would think that they would not pass, but not with such a small number of “yes” votes.. This led me to think that it is very difficult for him to reach those 87, because I believe that there are political forces in Congress that do not want early elections. And they don’t want that, because that’s what Parliament thought a few weeks ago. Neither the government nor the parliament wanted this. Now they are being forced,” he said in News extension from PTR.

“It is almost impossible or very difficult to hold elections with another need, namely political reform and an open ballot proposal.. I think the 2024 election would be ideal in terms of timing, but that’s not possible at the moment. The longer the time, the more difficult. I also believe that the public is waiting for a certain date. And from that moment on, there may be a voltage drop,” he added.

Elections should be for a full term, not for five years

Secondly, Soldevilla toast He pointed out that the time frame for calling a general election and effecting a transfer of command is rather short, in addition to the possibility that some political parties will drag out the process, reducing its legitimacy.

“Many people say that elections should be held next year, but which elections? First or second round? So if next year there is a transfer of power in December, then the second round of elections will be in November. risky. Why? On June 6 last year, the second round was held and the results were summed up 10 days before. If it happens in this new opportunity – because they’ve used up all the resources to expand – they could blow up the chart. They can also blow it up between the first and second,” he said.

Therefore, he considered it appropriate that the term for which new representatives are elected is only until 2026, and not for five years.

“If he assumes command in December, the article of the Constitution that says the president takes office on July 28 should be suspended. election year. I believe – and this needs to be carefully considered – that these elections should be completed in 2026. Because if we end up with such hasty elections, without reforms, we will have two and a half years of government, which will give us time to prepare the ground. so that in 2026 we start the five-year cycle again,” he said.

“If elections were called today, almost certainly only ten (parties) of parliament would be present,” he concluded.