The Congress will intervene in Central Electoral Board conflict

SD. The conflict caused by the differences between members of the Plenary of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) has caused great worry in many sectors of society that are observing that while the president of the board, Roberto Rosario, does not put aside his "inflexible" and "arbitrary" attitude, there can be no solution in the medium term.

Yesterday the president of the Senate, Reinaldo Pared Perez, placed three Tweets on his account @ReinaldoPared, in which he suggested that it is becoming necessary for the National Congress to carry out a deep investigation of "the problem in the JCE." "I am going to propose to the president of the Chamber of Deputies that we put together a joint commission in order to fully investigate the problem in the JCE," he wrote, and he went on to say: "The public contradictions among the members of the JCE is reaching a level in which a profound investigation is necessary."

Later on, Pared Perez wrote that he will make a proposal regarding the JCE in the next session of the Senate, which is set for this coming Wednesday.

Then the president of the JCE, in his Twitter account @PteJCE, said that "it is a sorry media spectacle that is going on about JCE, over the unwise behavior and the abusive use of the media." And he immediately added: "It is regrettable that the Powers of the State have to be distracted from their work on state issues by the poor conduct of some of the JCE members."

Lawyers and political scientists consulted by Diario Libre each expressed their worry regarding the conflict, and they warned that the National Congress should not suggest holding an impeachment proceeding.

The political scientist and lawyer, Pedro Catrain, said that the attitude of Rosario in his attempt to censor the titular dissident members Jose Angel Aquino and Eddy Olivares is arbitrary. He sees as dangerous Rosario's proposal to modify Article 10 of the JCE Regulations in order that the substitutes are permanently in session and that if the titular members do not come to the meeting room at the time set for a session, the quorum is completed with the substitutes. "The end of the conflict at the JCE is not on the horizon on the medium term, because with this inflexible attitude it is not possible to negotiate."

Lawyer Cristobal Rodriguez warned that the right to be a dissident is constitutional and that the democratic systems should be respected. He invited the president of the JCE to put aside his attitude, because he does not have the right to always impose his position. "I want to ask that the Congress be prudent with its level of intervention." In the meantime, the lawyer Candido Simon Polanco believes that the initiative by Rosario sends a bad message because it can be observed that there is a vocation to "squash the dissident minority."

Yesterday Olivares said that he will present his position in writing to the Plenary regarding Rosario's suggestion about the substitutes.. He noted that "it is a very delicate issue," and the he has the hope "that the Board will follow institutionalism and that there is a democratic leadership."