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2007 Assessment

Argentina: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Argentina: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity
Indicators		Score
17	In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?	100
18	Is the election monitoring agency effective?	70
19	Are elections systems transparent and effective?	63

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

Score:

YES

Comments: The judiciary is in charge of organizing and monitoring elections at the national level.

References: Poder Judicial de la Nacion, Fuero Electoral www.pjn.gov.ar

Is the election monitoring agency effective?

18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: National Constitution www.infoleg.gov.ar

18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments: Many judges were selected before the constitutional reform in 1994. The independence of some judges has been questioned. Two of the three judges at the Electoral Court of Appeal (Camara Nacional Electoral) were appointed after the constitutional reform through the Judicial Council (Consejo de la Magistratura). As judges have life tenure, appointments are not periodical.

References: Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007; Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007

18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: There is not enough staff.

References: Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007; Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007

18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007; Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007

18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007; Transparency International / The Carter Center, 2007, Proyecto CRINIS. Dinero en la politica, asunto de todos. [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Penalties are not common.

Are elections systems transparent and effective?

19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Yes there is. It's also true that some politicians use DNI (National Identification Document, wich alows to vote) of people who died to vote for theis political parties. Votation system in Argentina is with papers (boletas electorales), we have not implemented electronic vote.

19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: National Constitution www.infoleg.gov.ar; National Electoral Code www.infoleg.gov.ar

Peer Review Comments: The last case happened in the province of Cordoba, where the candidate who remained second in the voting appealed the result in the Electoral Justice.

19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: Since democratization in 1983 there have been no complaints about national results. 75 to 80 percent of the registered population usually votes in national elections.

References: Interview: Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007; Interview: Ines Selvood, Plaza Publica / Clarin, Aug. 16, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Denunciations of fraud in the last national elections was very common. Although this cases could not have changed final results. No parites claimed to the Justice.

19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections.

Score:

100

Comments: The military have not interfered with political campaigns and voting since redemocratization.

References: Interview to Pilar Arcidiacono, CELS Aug. 17, 2007; Interview to Pablo Secchi, Poder Ciudadano, Aug. 17, 2007

Peer Review Comments: Before the return of democracy, the military forces had a significant role in elections, by putting members of the force in Goverment or directly taking the Executive by using the force of arms. Since 1983, Military Forces have played a different role and did not intervene.

19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no law regulating electoral observation. All electoral regulations give the public authorities and the political parties in competition the right to participate during the organization of elections and the counting of the votes. Third parties are not allowed. However, NGOs are asking for official recognition of domestic and international observation (Poder Ciudadano). Because Argentina is a member state, the international observation is ruled by the OAS Inter-American Democratic Charter.

References: Poder Ciuddano, 2006, Seguimiento civico a las elecciones para convencionales constituyentes de Misiones. www.poderciudadano.org

19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Election observers have unfettered access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters themselves. The government does not interfere with the observers\' activities. <p>50 Score Criteria: Election observers generally have access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters but encounter restrictions in certain areas. The government may impose burdensome regulatory or bureaucratic requirements on observers to discourage their involvement. <p>0 Score Criteria: Election observers\' movements are significantly limited by the government and many polling and counting sites are restricted or barred from observers. The government imposes so many bureaucratic or regulatory burdens on the observers that their mission is rendered ineffective.$

Comments: The electoral process has been ruled by the authorities and political parties since forever in Argentina.

References: Poder Ciudadano, 2006, Seguimiento civico a las elecciones para convencionales constituyentes de Misiones. www.poderciudadano.org [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The minority parties do not have sufficient district attorneys to control the voting and the inventory of votes

Peer Review Comments: I would say that sometimes the limitations come from the judiciary, not the executive.