CNE rejects CAD, but there is still hope

The National Election Commission (CNE) rejected CAD's candidacy in the early hours of today (18th). Among the CNE's arguments is the late communication of the registration of some political parties that make up the CAD to the Ministry of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs.

In terms of the documents submitted to the CNE, the body states that CAD only submitted the document proving the approval of the Coalition Agreement, “thus missing other elements, such as the definition of the scope of the Coalition,” reads the CNE's deliberation published yesterday, July 17.

Despite this, political analyst Wilkar Dias, speaking to TORRE.News, explained that despite the rejection by the CNE, CAD still has options to pursue, including submitting a letter of complaint to the CNE itself.

"Firstly, there is the complaint model, which they can use to complain directly to the CNE," said Dias, adding that the law only allows a period of 3 days for CAD to submit a complaint to the CNE.

After the CNE, the source said that CAD can ultimately appeal to the Constitutional Council (CC), noting that if CAD's complaint is rejected by the CC, it can be considered that CAD is out of this electoral race.

Dias explained that CAD has a period of 10 days to appeal to the CC.

In addition to the irregularity related to the registration, the CNE argues that CAD did not define the scope of the coalition and there was a discrepancy between the CAD registration certificate and the new agreement.

The body also believes that CAD presents itself as a distinct legal entity from the political parties that comprise it, while the law stipulates that coalitions of political parties for electoral purposes do not have a separate legal personality from the parties that constitute the coalition.

Consequently, the CNE also rejected the multi-member lists of CAD candidates due to not meeting the legal requirements for submitting candidacies, resulting in the nullity of its candidacy process.

The electoral administration body states that, given the irregularities found, CAD was duly notified to correct them, but the coalition submitted incomplete documentation.

In response to the narrative that, having accepted CAD's registration and published it in the Government Gazette in January, considering that electoral acts happen sequentially following the principle of progressive acquisition of acts, the body no longer had the authority to reject the coalition citing irregularities in its registration.

In response, the CNE argues that nullity can be invoked at any time, under article 286 of the civil code, reiterating that CAD's candidacy lacked essential elements.