Elections reform approved

Lawmakers of the Commission of Government, Legislation and Constitutional Affairs of the State Assembly unanimously approved a bill that reforms the state Constitution and other laws to eliminate the so-called List Assemblymen.

The bill’s promoter Juan Manuel Molina explained that current electoral legislation addresses registration of list candidates, who are those registered with the state Electoral Institute by political using their own criteria to occupy seats based on the principle of proportional representation.

The legislator said his proposal seeks to break with a privilege that some political parties have enjoyed of installing lawmakers based cronyism rather than voter consent. He added he intends to guarantee that the candidates who come to occupy the seats in the Assembly are effectively selected by citizens and all carry a percentage of voter representation.

Molina said the bill would eliminate the possibility that a person who has not taken to the streets to ask for citizens’ vote and who has not faced the public to learn the needs of his district could simply assume an Assembly seat.

“This reform is intended, precisely, to echo the voices of citizens who have demanded, even here outside this venue, and who ask for a correct representation of their interests, since many declare that they do not feel represented,” Molina said.

-- Arturo Bojorquez, abojorquez@ivpressonline.

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