MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan La Libertad Avanza fails to overcome first hurdle

Montevideo's Electoral Court discarded many of the alleged endorsements over repetitions and irregularities

The Uruguayan version of Argentine President Javier Milei's La Libertad Avanza (LLA) failed to secure the 1,350 valid signatures required by Uruguay's Electoral Court to register as a political party, particularly after many signatures were ruled unacceptable. The group, led by Nicolás Quintana, has 20 days to gather additional signatures.

Argentina’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich's video supporting the group sparked controversy in Montevideo, with Colorado Party's Esequiel Ibarra accusing the movement of being susceptible to foreign interference and potential fraud.

This rocky start, coupled with allegations of irregularities, casts doubt on the group’s prospects in the country, despite a recent meeting with Argentine LLA Congresswoman Lilia Lemoine, who is also known to be Milei's personal make-up artist.

According to Uruguayan media, many signatures were repeated, and others did not match those on record for the individual who allegedly signed.

Quintana said his group was aware of the “historic discarding of signatures” of between “20% and 30%” which the Electoral Court considers invalid. “Maybe they discarded signatures and asked for more signatures, which is the most normal thing in the world when you register a party,” he added.

In addition to needing more signatures, the Uruguayan offshoot of LLA will need to overcome Ibarra's onslaught. “Committing fraud in the Electoral Court with signatures that did not correspond. Once again, Uruguayans demonstrate an ability to separate serious politics from clowning around,” the Colorado politician wrote on X.

Article 7 of Law # 18.485 requires that any group aspiring to obtain legal recognition must gather the support of 0.5 per thousand of those eligible to vote in the last national election. After the first review by the Court, if this threshold is not reached, a term of 20 days is granted to correct the observations and complete the required amount.