The Chapala government has finally moved the pieces to hold an express public referendum on the selection of delegados (administrators) to serve in the towns of Ajijic, Atotonilquillo, San Antonio Tlayacapan, San Nicolás de Ibarra and Santa Cruz de la Soledad. The voting process will take place Sunday, June 5, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the central plaza of each locality.
Apparently bending to growing public pressure, Mayor Javier Degollado and members of the city council approved an initiative for scheduling the referendum at their ordinary session Thursday, May 26. Terms of the process were laid out in an official notification issued immediately afterwards.
Pertinent paperwork was made available to applicants the following day. Formal registrations were accepted May 30 and May 31 from Mexican citizens holding full civil and political rights, were born or living for a minimum of three years residency in the respective town, and recognized for their moral aptitude.
Each was obliged to file an application form, proof of no criminal record, sheets showing signatures of support from fellow citizens accompanied by copies of their elector IDS. At least 150 signees were required for Ajijic and Atotonilquillo, 100 for other places. Contenders also submitted a plan of action to be implemented if elected. Anyone serving in a government post had to immediately take a leave of absence.
On Tuesday, June 1, five members of the council’s governance commission, reviewed the registration packets before announcing the list of persons who qualified, just after 4 p.m.
Certified candidates for Ajijic are Cristina Gómez Padilla, Sergio Alejandro Martínez Velazquez and Jesús Ernesto Medeles Córdova, current director of town’s cultural center. Would-be contenders Antonio González Heredia, Carlos Gerardo Pérez Medina and Francisco José Pérez Pérez were denied registration for failure to submit complete documentation.
The other candidates are Javier Serratos Navarro and Basilio Hernández Alaracón for Atotonilquillo; acting delegado Miguel Angel Espinosa Corona and Moisés Rodríguez Amezquita for San Antonio; José Alfredo Ortega Contreras and acting delegada Ana Luisa Raygoza Ibarra for San Nicolás; Delfina García Robles and acting delegada Ema Sandoval López for Santa Cruz.
All were permitted to launch lightening campaigns during a period limited to the first minute of June 2 through June 4, 10 p.m.
Citizens with current voter ID cards will be eligible to vote in their places of residence. Ballots will show the full legal name, familiar nickname and photograph of each candidate. Once the polls close, the ballots will be transferred to the bandstand kiosk at each plaza to be verified and counted by assigned city officials, under supervision of candidate representatives. The individual garnering the most votes will be declared the winner, with the final tally posted right away, in public view outside at the corresponding Delegación office.
The new administrators will be formally sworn in on Friday, June 10, to take up their duties first thing the following Monday.
The timing of the referendum is totally out of sync with Article32 of the municipality’s Reglamento Orgánico (regulatory code), which establishes that it should be held within the first 60 days of a new administration. Under those circumstances, dissatisfied losing candidates may find legal grounds for challenging the election results.
The current government has been in for just over eight months. While the mayor named acting administrators within days of taking office, he has showed reluctance to comply with the local rule of law for permanent designation of delegados for the adminstration’s three-year term.
Political observers suggest that the outcome will serve as a yardstick of public opinion on the Degollado government’s performance to date.