MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina ratifies primary elections August 11, including for the controversial Counsel of Magistrates

”Elections will be held and are not in danger” said Director Alejandro Tullio

The Argentine government ratified that open and simultaneous primary elections, ahead of October’s mid term election, as established by law in the electoral calendar, will be held next August 11, despite the current wave of injunctions against a reform of the Magistrates Counsel (responsible for naming, sanctioning and firing judges) which contemplates the election of its members by universal suffrage on the same dates.

On 11 August the different political parties must chose their candidates for October’s election when half of the Lower House and a third of the Senate seats’ will be renewed. But according to a recently approved judicial reform, Argentines will be also voting for the members of Magistrates’ Counsel. The council was created by the 1994 constitution but its members had to be approved by the Legislative branch.

“Elections will be held and are not in danger. If one of the categories is suspended, it will not appear on the ballot paper” said Electoral Director Alejandro Tullio. “The electoral organization must continue, as the law must be observed,” he added and warned it will be an “intense” week for electoral courts when political alliances are due to be registered until June 22.

Under the new system recently promulgated by President Cristina Fernandez the number of magistrates in the council is increased from 13 to 19, and half of them need not be solicitors or former judges, but rather political appointees, and the list of candidates must be presented by political parties that have representation in at least 18 Argentine electoral districts or provinces. Obviously the only party to have such national representation is the ruling “Victory Front” from President Cristina Fernandez.

Practically all lawyer associations, independent judges and opposition parties have united in condemning the new measures as a serious assault on the Constitution and have joined to trigger tens of judicial challenges to the reform. The opposition could overcome this by presenting an only list of professional candidates above politics, but this still seems a distant goal to crystallize.

In practical terms the reform means twelve members of the new Counsel will be elected by universal suffrage and political parties will nominate the candidates. Elections for the magistrates will be held at the same time as the parliamentary and/or presidential elections. Judges will be named or fired by a simple majority within the counsel of magistrates and Judges will not necessarily be subject to any examination or merit considerations. From the entry into force of the new legislation, judges will be elected or removed from office by the same political majority that controls Congress and/or the Executive at any given time and will be elected through the political parties they represent.

The many injunctions presented in several federal courts must decide if the election of the Magistrates Council by universal vote is constitutional or not. Some judges ordered the suspension of the election, but it is anticipated that the controversy will be reaching the Argentine Supreme Court. However time is pressing.