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25th anniversary electoral court Guatemala
Free and fair elections and increased women participation are impressive results of the work of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which was established 25 years ago.
25 years ago Guatemala established the independent Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). To celebrate the work of the Tribunal NIMD and the Soros foundation organized an academic conference on 30 July.
TSE president Ms. María Eugenia Villagrán stressed various important achievements of the Tribunal in the past 25 years. Firstly, Guatemala now celebrates transparent, free and fair elections which are nationally and internationally recognized. In addition, the decentralization of politics, as a result of the reformed Electoral and Political Party Law has resulted in increased citizen participation.
Women vote more
Data analysis on women participation show a 30% increase of women voting during the last elections in 2007 compared to the ones in 2003. It also showed that, if women obtain their voting documentation, they make more use of their right to vote than men. For the TSE these data are important as from its origin the Tribunal paid special attention to the participation of women, youth and indigenous people in the elections.
Not withstanding these positive results, it is important to continue to work on voter participation and strengthen the position of the TSE as a transparent and credible institution.
Electoral reform
In addition, challenges for the TSE regarding the Electoral and Political Party Law were analyzed and discussed. The law already saw two important changes in 2004 and 2006, and currently the political parties and the TSE are reviewing proposals to ensure the institutional strengthening of political parties and the party system, and the transparency in public and private funding for parties. NIMD support this process with technical assistance and by facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
Anabela de León, member of the congress for the Patriotic Party closed the conference calling the citizens to actively participate in the strengthening of democracy: “We, the politicians, can create change, but it does not correspond only to politicians to do so.”
The series of conferences celebrating the 25th anniversary of the TSE take place in Guatemala City and in the interior of the country. For additional information see www.nimd.org.gt or www.tse.org.gt
