Are the peoples prepared to vote with historical conscience and social conscience?
The fate of the representatives depends on their work within their party and their loyalty to the leaders instead of their service to their constituents.
When voters vote for candidates and not for party lists, a link is created between the performance of the representatives and the possibilities in the election.
In single-member constituencies the limit of viable competitors is two, therefore if my preferred candidate due to a close ideology between the two has incurred in corrupt practices, I may have no other option than to continue voting for him because voting for a third party will waste the vote and favor the election of the least preferred.
What is relevant is the possibility of identifying corrupt practices and punishing them electorally.
The Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Nation has ruled that the determination of the suitability of a “politician” is the power of the People of the Nation and the politician “does not require suitability or moral qualities” (Fallo Bussi: 2001). In fact, in that ruling the CSJN ruled in favor of the plaintiff despite the fact that he had been convicted of Human Rights violations but benefited from the unworthy Full Stop law, stating that the ruling is “protection of the sovereignty of the people and the expression of their will”, even though the people vote for immoral and corrupt.
However, today, the corrupt convicted with a final sentence cannot participate in the elections because it is one of the admissibility requirements to be a candidate prior to the election.
However, the paradox presented by the explanation of the causal link between the electoral system and corruption is that the same electoral system that “dissuades” political corruption is the same one that encourages it to continue present through clientelism, campaign expenses and candidates without moral suitability and political integrity.
The systems that allow people to vote (internal to a party) over the vote for parties favor individualized links between voters and politicians, increasing the cost of the campaign, promoting and stimulating the great business of elections.
“The people are the organic source of sovereignty and the way to put it into exercise is the vote of the citizens in order to directly or indirectly constitute the authorities of the Nation.” (Bug 324:3358)
If we already have antecedents, that the vote often favors those who do not have “moral suitability” even if they are later condemned, then we can affirm that many times, the people vote corrupt and then punish them.
With conscience or not, without a doubt, “people have politicians who are similar to them.”
IG: @dracynthiacastro
CF: Dr. Cynthia Castro
by CEDOC
