The governor Rogelio Frigerio officially decided to move forward with political and electoral reform in Entre Ríos. The initiative was presented before the provincial Legislature, and includes the implementation of the single paper ballot (BUP)the voting system that replaces the format of ballots based on party or political alliance.
The president plans for the electoral reform in the province to be sanctioned this year, although the district does not elect provincial positions until 2027. In this way, the discussions will not coincide with an electoral year, something that always makes agreements with the opposition difficult. .
“For years there has been resistance in Entre Ríos to modernize our voting system, which is more than 100 years old. Today, in a meeting with representatives of all political parties, academia and legislators of the province, we put on the table a political reform project that includes, among other things, the implementation of the Single Paper Ballot,” he published Frigerio on social networks. “Voting can be easier, transparent, agile and much more economical. “We continue to work closely with the people of Entre Ríos and honor our commitment to deep and lasting changes,” she urged.
The president made the presentation at the Provincial Convention Center (CPC) of Paraná, before the provincial legislators, representatives of the 20 political forces of the province, members of the federal and provincial Electoral Justice; and university rectors, who were summoned for the presentation.
Frigerio clarified that his project is not about a “canning of proposals“, but – as he said – “a guide to start discussing with some urgency because this is a non-electoral year and, in general, it is agreed that non-electoral years are the most productive years to face a political reform like the one that we propose.”
“It is a reform that has to go beyond changing the system in which voting is done in the province,” said the governor, and also highlighted the need to “discuss the strengthening of political parties, which has been a pending issue for many years.” He also opened the door to debate on the definition of the candidacies within each political space, given the alternative of continuing with the Mandatory Simultaneous Open Primaries (PASO) or “If we are going to go to another scheme”.
“In the 21st century we are all forced to rethink these things and move in a different direction. “This has to be a State reform that goes far beyond the political parties, the political-party situation of the province,” he insisted. In addition, the governor took advantage of the occasion to move forward in the direction of carrying out the innovations implemented by sister provinces of the Central Region.
In turn, the Minister of Government and Labor, Manuel Troncosohighlighted the importance of the event “because what was for the current governor a transcendental campaign axis is beginning to materialize, democratically and jointly building a political reform of the party law and the electoral code.”
There is still no written reform project, although there are advanced drafts. What follows is a stage of listening to recommendations and negotiation. Specifically, Governor Frigerio pointed out that the objective is to achieve a consensus between the different political parties to present the reform to the Legislature before the end of the year “and start 2025 with these modifications embodied in a law”. “We are the only province in the region that has not made sensible modifications in electoral matters and today we begin to pay off that debt,” he encouraged.
The deputy governor attended the official presentation Alicia Aluani; the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies, Gustavo Heinand the Superior Court of Justice, Leonardo Portela. Among the members of the cabinet were the Minister of Government and Labor, Manuel Troncoso; and the secretaries of Institutional Affairs and Political Reform, Julian Maneiroand general of the Government, Mauricio Colelloamong others.
As a national deputy, Frigerio had presented in recent years a project to incorporate the single paper ballot at the national level. The text also bore the signatures of Silvia Lospennato; Maria Eugenia Vidal and Cristian Ritondo. He had done the same thing when he held the Ministry of the Interior during the presidency of Mauricio Macri. There were two opportunities. In the first, the single ballot was electronic and the second proposed the BUP. None managed to be sanctioned.
