Ahead of the legislative elections in the province of Buenos Aires, several libertarians came out to question the announced 'testimonial' candidacies of several candidates for the provincial legislature. Former Interior Minister Lisandro Catalán was one of them, calling it a 'scam'. His successor, national deputy-elect for the PRO party, Diego Santilli, endorsed the idea, calling it a 'game where you vote for me and I don't get in'. Manuel Adorni said the same. The former presidential spokesperson was elected as a Buenos Aires legislator but will not assume his seat as he was appointed by President Javier Milei as Chief of Staff to replace Guillermo Francos. 'Testimonial candidacies are a fraud on the electorate, and I am not in that situation,' clarified the new coordinating minister. He clarified that, unlike those candidacies, he was already actively working in the Legislature and had a real commitment to that role, so his change of position does not imply evading electoral responsibilities. Basically, for the ruling party, the difference between a testimonial candidacy and not taking office depends on the moment when the 'scam' is announced—before or after the elections. However, it is a point that cannot be overlooked, because in practice, the result is exactly the same. A candidate was elected to represent their electorate in a legislative body who ultimately does not assume their responsibilities. However—and this is my personal opinion—the case of Santilli and Adorni is even more serious and, in any case, more 'fraudulent,' considering that in the case of, for example, the Vice Governor of Buenos Aires, Verónica Magari, she announced before the election that she would not take office, leaving the voter the power to approve or not the testimonial candidacies. As for the recently appointed in the National Executive, once elected, they ended up showing that, despite the intention to assume their seats—which they claim existed—they will not finally fulfill the role they were voted for, thus aggravating the 'fraud' they said they did not share. It should be clarified that it is not a matter of wanting to defend the testimonial candidacy of a political faction, in any case it is always wrong, even if announced before the elections, as it functions as a trap for the uninformed voter who may not know who will finally enter the legislative body, whether provincial or national. But you also cannot let pass a blatant lie, like the one from the ruling party, which claims they were not testimonial candidates when, in fact, they were. Neither Adorni nor Santilli will finally take their seats, and that is what ultimately matters. This article was first published in Mendoza Today. Source: Mendoza Today
