Buenos Aires, December 22 (NA) – The General Audit Office of the Nation (AGN) swore in new members appointed by the Chamber of Deputies this Monday: Rita Mónica Almada from La Libertad Avanza; Juan Ignacio Forlón from Unión por la Patria, and the Salteña Pamela Calletti, who is aligned with Governor Gustavo Sáenz. The swearing-in of the new trio of members takes place amidst a judicial dispute initiated by the president of the PRO bloc in the Chamber of Deputies, Cristian Ritondo, who argued that the appointments are null because they violated parliamentary due process and the principle of legality, according to a document accessed by the Argentine News Agency. Cristian Ritondo challenged the AGN appointments as “unconstitutional and illegitimate.” The extraordinary session of the College of Auditors was led by the president of the AGN, Juan Manuel Olmos, and once the new members of the control body assumed their duties, a quorum was re-established, consisting of at least four of the seven votes. The AGN was paralyzed as the mandates of the representatives from Deputies had expired in March 2024 and the mandates of the Senate representatives in April of this year. Only Olmos remained with a valid mandate: with the incorporation of the three new representatives from Deputies, the body now has four members, awaiting the appointment of vacancies by the Senate that will allow for its full integration. What was PRO's claim? In his presentation, which includes an injunction request to halt the appointments, Ritondo stated that the appointments are tainted by unconstitutionality and illegitimacy. He also warned that validating these appointments affects the institutional balance and the role of control bodies. In this sense, Ritondo requested that the AGN refrain from consolidating the effects of the challenged appointments and take measures to preserve institutional legality, without prejudice to what the Judicial Branch decides. For the head of the Buenos Aires PRO, the appointments could not be made as the issue was not on the session's agenda nor in the extraordinary sessions agenda sent by the Executive Branch. Furthermore, he emphasized that the challenged resolution is dated December 17, while the vote took place at 2:55 AM on December 18, which, in his view, evidences the illegality of the procedure. During the session, Ritondo criticized the ruling party for violating political pacts and arranging the distribution of positions with Kirchnerism “between roosters and midnight.” The head of the yellow bloc intended that, instead of Calletti, former Minister of Labor of Cambiemos Jorge Triaca should have been sworn in as the new auditor. Enraged by what they considered a political betrayal, the PRO deputies rose from their seats and left the chamber in disagreement with the agreement between libertarians and peronists to move forward with the approval of the trio of new auditors. Deputies from Provincias Unidas, the Civic Coalition, and the Front of Left also withdrew from the session. IP The ruling coalition's intention was for the six new members (three from Deputies and three from the Senate) to be sworn in at a joint event, but the litigation initiated by Ritondo precipitated the events, and Almada, Forlón, and Calletti were sworn in this Monday before noon. The first ordinary session of the College of General Auditors will be on February 11.
