The delay of electoral jurisdiction in resolve three observed minutes to define the new metropolitan municipal authority is beginning to generate concern about its possible effects on the transfer of management of the Municipality of Lima. According to experts consulted by El Comercio, the delay could limit access to budget information, put at risk the continuity of prevention works and postpone the renewal of essential services, amid the onslaught of the El Niño phenomenon.
Fernando Rodríguez Patrón, former director of Political Organizations of the National Election Jury (JNE)warned that this situation may imply three problems that would be critical for the capital and other cities threatened by the onslaught of the climate phenomenon.
The first of these problems is operational inaction in terms of prevention. Rodríguez Patrón recalled that every transfer commission must be legally established to begin its functions. As long as this does not happen, the new management’s access to key budget information to organize its first actions will be delayed.
“By not being able to do so, this delays first access to key budget information,” he said.
A second consequence is that the continuity of works being carried out could be stopped, such as clearing rivers, riverside defenses and placing protective meshes, among others, in various areas of Lima.
The former JNE official warned that the lack of installation of the transfer commission can also generate shortages or contractual paralysis of the services of the Lima municipality.
“This interrupts the renewal of essential contracts such as public cleaning, security and others. This threatens to leave the needs of the city unattended in the midst of a climate emergency,” he said.
Likewise, he warned that the delay will also prevent the coherent and immediate articulation of the contingency funds assigned to mitigate the impact of the El Niño phenomenon. This would leave the new administration without the ability to respond quickly during its first weeks in office.
For her part, Alexandra Marallano, former secretary general of the National Elections Jury (JNE), explained that the delay in the proclamation of results does have a direct impact on the management transfer deadlines. He recalled that this procedure is supervised by the Comptroller General of the Republic, which establishes through directives the steps and times that must be followed.
“Any delay has negative consequences. Planned things will be stopped or if they are done they will run the risk of not obtaining the intended results. If we are talking about an electoral process, these delays do matter,” he indicated.
The former official warned that the problem could transcend the bureaucratic sphere and affect resource management during the coming months, when a critical season is expected due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon. Among the risks he mentioned a possible paralysis of prevention and execution works, as well as difficulties in adopting emergency budgets.
Added to this is the need to define who will be in charge of the local and regional emergency committees, in addition to the technical teams in charge of disaster risk management.
“When there is more delay in management problems, they will cause the problems that arise as a result of the El Niño phenomenon to happen in a hasty manner. There are logistics involved, a series of technical commands that have to be installed,” he warned.
It should be noted that the three minutes corresponding to the polling stations of Villa María del Triunfo, Comas and Santa Anita are awaiting resolution. In the cases of Comas and Santa Anita, the Special Electoral Juries scheduled vote counting hearings for Friday, November 6 and 9, respectively.
Meanwhile, regarding the Villa María del Triunfo minutes, the plenary session of the National Elections Jury (JNE) declared an appeal founded, although the meaning of its resolution is still unknown.
