The legal struggle between the president of the Cambio Democrático (CD) party, Rómulo Roux, and the deputy Yanibel Ábrego, who leads the faction “El cambio es ya”, does not stop.

A war of legal resources against the regulations and the calendar of primary elections of CD, which includes the issue of reserves for future alliances, keeps this process without definition.

After the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal (TE) in plenary session decided last Thursday to revoke resolution 62-DNOE of March 8, 2023 in all its parts, which set the date of the CD primary elections and established the reservations of positions for alliances in the various popularly elected positions, a new resource could further extend this internal struggle.

In that sentence, the plenary session of the TE ordered the CD to make the modifications and/or corrections to the regulations and calendar of primary elections. Similarly, the magistrates ordered Cambio Democrático to adapt the reserve annexes in accordance with article 355 of the Electoral Code.

Following this decision, last Saturday an appeal for clarification of the sentence was filed before the magistrates, through Ceila Peñalba, a lawyer who represents the deputy Yanibel Ábrego in this process.

According to sources within the TE, if this request for clarification of the sentence is admitted, the process or calendar of primary elections would be on hold until the magistrates issue their considerations in this regard.

In fact, until late last night Roux’s candidacy for the post of President of the Republic in the primary elections on July 9 was in doubt, and that it had been announced it would be held for Tuesday.

Even the Cambio Democrático party, led by Roux, presented on Monday morning the modifications or adjustments to the regulations and calendar of internal CD elections, which are already under review by the National Directorate of Electoral Organization.

According to the lawyer Ceila Peñalba, in the next few hours it is possible that the Electoral Bulletin will come out with the adjustments that the resolution of the TE ordered.

Peñalba stated that CD held a meeting of the board of directors last Friday and a National Directorate on Saturday, to approve the modifications that the TE ordered and detailed that the same Saturday, without having been informed of the content of the resolution of Thursday, March 23 that ordered to revoke everything and make adjustments to the regulations, Cambio Democrático ignored due process and began to make the adjustments in advance before the TE formally communicated the decision.

“That being the case, it is up to the Electoral Tribunal to indicate if what they have done has exceeded the limits of the case that they should have made to the Court’s decision. Knowing the matter, they will accept it, so we will be attentive when the new electoral calendar of applications is published in the Electoral Bulletin,” said Peñalba.

An appeal presented by CD substitute deputy Agustín Shelhorn on the annexes that the National Commission for Internal Elections had presented, without having summoned the CD Board of Directors, is also yet to be resolved in the TE.