The Chamber of Deputies granted this Wednesday half sanction to the bill “That extends by one year the term of office of the municipal authorities elected in the 2021 elections.”
It is worth mentioning that various advisory commissions issued opinions on the matter, with different views about the possibility of extending the municipal mandate until 2026.
The Constitutional Affairs Commission had advised, in majority, the rejection; Municipal and Departmental Affairs recommended approval; and Legislation and Codification chose to rule negatively.
Let us remember that the municipal period 2015-2020 had been extended until 2021 due to the health crisis, so mayors and councilors spent six years in their positions.
Taking this situation into account, the project argued that there is “an inequality that is detrimental to the democratic balance of the term of office between one municipal authority and another, leaving the current ones with a shorter term.”
Likewise, he mentions that this will bring breaches in the conclusion of projects to be executed.
The legislators who spoke in favor, recalled article 250 of the Electoral Code, which provides that municipal authorities must serve a period of five years.
“The authorities of the Municipal Board will be elected through elections that will be held in the electoral district corresponding to each municipality, based on lists of candidates that include all the positions to be elected and integrated by the proportional system established in this code; and they will last five years in their functions”, indicates the text.
They also mentioned article 253, which states that “the mayors will be elected by a simple majority vote of the electors registered in the register of the respective district and will last five years in their functions.”
Another sector of the plenary, however, was against the approval, arguing that the regulations violate article 2 of the National Constitution.
In that sense, they described the intention as unfair and as an outrage to the Magna Carta and the laws.
Finally, after the corresponding vote, the bill was approved and sent to the Senate.
