Within the region, citizens are entitled to file appeals against any
determination aimed at including or excluding them from the voters’ register
and the voters list. Such a right can also be brought against a decision
refusing the issuing of electoral identification. Some countries entitle
political parties, candidates, district attorneys and electoral prosecutors, to
appeal any resolution issued with regard to the inclusion or the exclusion of
any individual in or from the voters’ register (Argentina, Bolivia and Costa
Rica). Mexico entitles political parties to file appeals against the report
made by the electoral authority regarding the final observations made by such
political parties on publication of the voters’ register. Usually, electoral authorities’ decisions on the approval or denial of
registry to a new political can be appealed by other political parties or by
citizens.
Appeals against the statuses of political parties can be filed either by their
members or by other political parties (when the appeal is filed against a
resolution taken by an electoral authority). In Colombia “every citizen will be
entitled to file appeals at the National Electoral Council to appeal any
statutory provision which is against the Constitution, the law or the National
Electoral Council’s resolutions. Such a right will last for twenty days after a
decision on the matter has been made.”
Many countries authorize political parties to appeal illegal resolutions
issued by the electoral authorities related to them (political associations are
also entitled to do so in both Argentina and Mexico). Such countries also
authorize political parties to appeal electoral resolutions related to the
preparation for election day, to electoral results and to inabilities of
elected candidates to undertake their duties.
In Argentina, representatives and elected representatives can file appeals
against a representative’s election at the political institution in charge of resolving
them. Senators and elected senators have the same right to appeal senatorial
elections. Moreover, the Senate can entitle any individual or any institution
to file such appeals.
Some countries authorize their qualified institutions to carry out a review
on the lawfulness of electoral results. Other countries authorize candidates to
do so (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Venezuela are among them. In Uruguay candidates are
authorized to challenge congressional elections while the appeals of
presidential elections are reserved for political parties’ authorities that are
registered before the Electoral Court). Some countries provide candidates with
an accessory role (Mexico, where they can only file appeals related to
candidate’s inabilities, and Paraguay), while others do not authorize
candidates to file appeals in an explicit way (Argentina, El Salvador,
Guatemala and Dominican Republic). In each case, the candidates’ right to file
appeals depends on how developed political parties are. It is also related to
the evolution and characteristics of the party system and to the possibility of
having independent candidates.
Some countries allow collective lawsuits to be filed in order to appeal
either electoral results or candidates’ inabilities to perform their duties
(Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela. Uruguay
allows the existence of such lawsuits to appeal congressional elections).
Citizens are also authorized to file appeals against such issues. Such an
authorization is fundamental to ensure adequate access to the electoral
judicial system for all, even though such openness can result in the filing of
too many appeals (even as a political strategy performed either by a small
political party or by a political party that is loosing an election). Such
openness can also affect not only the preparation stage but also the resolution
of electoral appeals, which can then affect the reliability and legitimacy of
elections.
Judicial review of electoral issues is free in the majority of Latin
American countries. In Mexico, for instance, free access for all to the
judicial system is a constitutional right, while Peru taxes the access to
judicial review (in Peru it is compulsory to make a deposit to support the
appeals filed against a political party’s registration, candidate’s abilities
or electoral results. The reimbursement of such deposits will be only derived
from successful appeals). Access to a judicial system is related to the common
need of making the access to courts even wider as well as to the common need of
preventing electoral litigation from becoming an abusive device aimed at
affecting the elections’ trustfulness. In some countries, political parties
that file completely unsound or malicious appeals have to pay a special tax
(Paraguay), while in others, futile appeals produce judicial fines.
Finally, some countries open the appeal processes to others who can be
interested in them, such as the electoral prosecutor or the Attorney General
who represents public interests (Argentina, El Salvador, Panama and Paraguay).
