The bill that was introduced by President Lopez Obrador specifies that political parties are obligated to guarantee candidatures to citizens who are migrants, people of colour, indigenous people, LGBT persons, and citizens who have a disability.
On Wednesday, the Mexican Senate gave its approval to a bill to reform the country's electoral system that was proposed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO). The goal of the bill is to bring the country's electoral system closer to its citizens and to increase the transparency of the system.
The bill, which received 72 votes in favour and 50 votes against, would change the General Law on Electoral Institutions, the Law on Political Parties, and the Judiciary Law. It received 72 votes in favour and received 50 votes against it.
After debating the issue for several hours, senators ultimately decided to side with the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), a party that supports the government.
Initially, AMLO's bill proposed that the votes received by a coalition of parties could be used by the smaller parties to keep their electoral registration, even when the smaller parties had not achieved the minimum standard that is required for each party by law. This provision was intended to help smaller parties compete with larger parties for voters' attention. But, senators did not vote in favour of this measure because they believed that votes would become "political goods."
The National Electoral Institute will no longer be responsible for performing some administrative duties as a result of the new electoral reform statute (INE). In addition to that, it gave the go-ahead for the residents to vote for their councillors.
The law also makes it possible for Mexican people to vote online, regardless of where they live. Nevertheless, you will not be able to take advantage of this choice when using a commercially available device, such as an electronic wallet or prepaid credit card.
In addition, the bill mandates that political parties are required to ensure candidatures for people of colour, indigenous people, migrants, members of the LGBT community, and persons with disabilities. For the bill to go into effect, it will need to be approved by the administration of AMLO.
Politicians from the opposition categorically rejected this, emphasising that they will contest the reform in front of the Supreme Court and organise a protest against it on February 26 in over eighty places around Mexico.
