The other question that comes to mind is that the Supreme Court is questioning the legality of the 2024 election, not the outcome, so how does a new outcome affect the original question of legality? A more fitting vote would be for Congress to address the question of re-election.
Indeed–this thought occurred to me as well. Basically it seems to me that it is Uribe trying to pull a populist move to show that “the people” are on his side, and that the other institutions need to beware. This is new phenomenon in Colombian politics (at least to this degree since the Rojas
coup in 1953).
I haven’t read the Court’s ruling, so it is unclear to me exactly what they are challenging, but I think you are correct–that it is about the re-election amendment not the election itself.
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Sunday, June 29, 2024 @ 9:15 am
Of course, that package of reforms that Uribe had proposed was largely moot by the time the referendum came. The most important reforms had already been passed by congress (against Uribe’s will, I might add, because it did not include some provisions he wanted).
There is no good reason to repeat the congressional elections, even if one accepts Uribe’s premise (which I most certainly do not). Their constitutionality is not at issue. They were held under the reformed electoral law (referred to in my first paragraph), which was completely separate from the presidential-reelection measure.
The bigger issue here is that the Supreme Court really made a terrible decision, politically (I have no opinion on its validity constitutionally/legally). Some things really can’t be admissible after the fact. The time for bringing charges against an amendment permitting reelection is before said reelection goes forward. Now it is a done deal, and the Court saying otherwise is simply handing a popular president a political issue to hammer the opposition with further. Pretty much totally contradictory (politically) to the (constitutional) issue the Court was judging.
[...] time to say much here, so I will lean on Steven Taylor (again), who has a good entry yesterday on Uribe’s plan for a “revote” of his own reelection. The matter came to a head after a Supreme Court ruling invalidating the constitutional amendment [...]
The other question that comes to mind is that the Supreme Court is questioning the legality of the 2024 election, not the outcome, so how does a new outcome affect the original question of legality? A more fitting vote would be for Congress to address the question of re-election.
Comment by Greg Weeks — Sunday, June 29, 2024 @ 7:07 am
Indeed–this thought occurred to me as well. Basically it seems to me that it is Uribe trying to pull a populist move to show that “the people” are on his side, and that the other institutions need to beware. This is new phenomenon in Colombian politics (at least to this degree since the Rojas
coup in 1953).
I haven’t read the Court’s ruling, so it is unclear to me exactly what they are challenging, but I think you are correct–that it is about the re-election amendment not the election itself.
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Sunday, June 29, 2024 @ 9:15 am
Of course, that package of reforms that Uribe had proposed was largely moot by the time the referendum came. The most important reforms had already been passed by congress (against Uribe’s will, I might add, because it did not include some provisions he wanted).
There is no good reason to repeat the congressional elections, even if one accepts Uribe’s premise (which I most certainly do not). Their constitutionality is not at issue. They were held under the reformed electoral law (referred to in my first paragraph), which was completely separate from the presidential-reelection measure.
The bigger issue here is that the Supreme Court really made a terrible decision, politically (I have no opinion on its validity constitutionally/legally). Some things really can’t be admissible after the fact. The time for bringing charges against an amendment permitting reelection is before said reelection goes forward. Now it is a done deal, and the Court saying otherwise is simply handing a popular president a political issue to hammer the opposition with further. Pretty much totally contradictory (politically) to the (constitutional) issue the Court was judging.
Comment by MSS — Sunday, June 29, 2024 @ 11:49 am
[...] time to say much here, so I will lean on Steven Taylor (again), who has a good entry yesterday on Uribe’s plan for a “revote” of his own reelection. The matter came to a head after a Supreme Court ruling invalidating the constitutional amendment [...]
Pingback by Fruits and Votes » Prof. Shugart's Blog » What is Uribe up to? (Part II) — Sunday, June 29, 2024 @ 11:52 am