In a verdict that is being simultaneously hailed by legislators as a "triumph" and decried by the local press as "a fatal blow to democracy," the controversial reelection bid by former President Dr. Oscar Arias appeared to be dead in the water this week, after the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) rejected two motions claiming that the country’s ban on reelection is unconstitutional.
In the wake of a 4 to 3 vote in the Sala, Supreme Court President Rodolfo Piza announced the court’s ruling on Tuesday evening, effectively closing the book on the Nobel Peace laureate’s crusade for a constitutional referendum to legalize reelection. No official reason was given to explain the court’s ruling.
"I did what I could, but I failed," said Arias, who celebrates his 59th birthday Sept. 16.
Arias’ reelection initiative began last December, when he made known his intentions to run again for President. With public opinion apparently in his favor (a February CID-Gallup poll showed that as many as 74 percent of Costa Ricans favored reelection), the only hurdle that stood between Arias and a 2002 presidential bid was the Constitution.
According to article 132 of the Constitution, reelection has been illegal since 1969.
However, boosters of Arias’ reelection initiative contested the article, in part because of irregularities that existed in the legislative commission formed in 1966 to draft the controversial amendment.
Other proponents of the Constitutional referendum made the argument that a ban on reelection violates the American Convention on Human Rights by prohibiting a person from being elected by popular vote and limiting a citizen’s right to choose a qualified candidate in a democratic society.
Despite public opinion polls that served to justify Arias’ continued push for Constitutional reform, the controversial battle for reelection was not supported by most legislators, ex-presidents, or pre-candidates.
Even within the leadership of the National Liberation Party — the ticket on which Arias won the presidency in 1986—most of the congressmen and pre-candidates chose not to support their former President in his reelection efforts. As a result, most legislators applauded the Sala’s recent decision.
"Although I always knew that don Oscar was possibly more well-liked and respected than I am, now I will be able to demonstrate that I have more to offer the nation," National Liberation pre-candidate Rolando Araya told the local press after learning this week’s court ruling.
Aside from a lack of support from his old party’s "faithful," much of the controversy surrounding the legal motion with Sala IV had to do with the issue of which government branch is entitled to reform the Constitution. While congressmen who supported reelection pressured the Supreme Court to resolve the controversial issue, a majority of legislators maintained that the Sala has no legal jurisdiction to intervene in the matter, because it lacks the authority to nullify an article of the Constitution.
"The day the Sala IV eliminates an article from the Constitution is the day I resign…we’d all resign," Liberation Congress chief Daniel Gallardo told the daily La República last February, shortly after the motion was filed with the court.
However, Arias maintained that the issue of Constitutional reform was one of justice, while much of the opposition to the bill appeared to be politically motivated. The former President’s criticism was echoed by Rubén Hernández of the daily La Nación, who wrote, "the Sala has delivered a fatal blow to the most sacred principles in a State of law."
The final Sala ruling came less than two months after the first reelection bill—proposed by Otto Guevara, minority deputy of the Libertarian Movement Party — was shot down on July 17 by a congressional vote of 31-11 (TT, Jul. 21).
"Democracy has suffered," stated an editorial in the Sept. 6 issue of La Nación. "The way the reelection initiative was managed by the politicians will probably increase public mistrust of government officials and distance more people (from the political process)."
Even though the initiative for constitutional reform has now been voted down in both the Congress and the Sala, several legal channels still exist with which to further pursue the quest for reelection. While there is talk among some die-hard reelection proponents of bringing the case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Arias claims he has chosen this time to bow out of the struggle.
"I don’t have any interest in continuing [the reelection initiative]," Arias told The Tico Times. "I have been a private citizen since 1990, and I will continue to enjoy my work for peace and human progress with the Arias Foundation."
