In accordance with the Constitutive Protocol that suspends the direct elections for the positions of Parliamentarians of Mercosur, the Chamber of Deputies sanctioned the project that modifies the Electoral Code and adapts it to said provision.
The project sent by the Senate with change0,s and approved as is in the ordinary session of Deputies the day before, modifies articles 170, 246, 247, 248 and 258 of Law No. 834/1996, which establishes the Paraguayan Electoral Code .
The text eliminates everything related to Parlasur from the Electoral Code, as of 2023, as previously agreed in the constitutive protocol, but with the qualification that the legal adjustments that were fulfilled now were still missing.
As of next year’s general elections, the Parlasur representatives will be appointed from among the deputies and senators elected in such elections, without the need for a parallel vote.
This same procedure was used from the beginning by other countries such as Brazil and Uruguay, including Argentina, which only in the last election decided to implement the direct vote of the citizen.
The elimination will save time and paperwork during the general elections, but at the same time it will avoid hefty monthly salaries, for sessions that are held a few times a year and for a body that lacks decision-making powers, beyond what is merely enunciative.
