El computo del plazo para interponer la reclamacion electoral del art.10 inc.1 n°2 de la ley n° 18593 ante el tribunal electoral regional

Abstract

According to Article 10 Paragraph 1º Nº 2 of the 1986 Act on Regional Electoral Tribunals, these tribunals can hear claims filed in regards with elections carried out in guilds and intermediate groups. Plaintiffs must file these claims with the tribunal within a period of 10 days counted from the last scrutiny of the "respective election", the law says. Because of the imprecise language of the law, it is unclear what is the meaning of the expression "respective election" refered to by the law. This occurs specially when there is a run-off election in which electoral defects might have occured in the first election. This article analyzes two different interpretations about this issue by having recourse to the systematic, historical and grammatical elements of legal interpretation, and finally it sides with one of these interpretations taking into consideration both these elements of interpretation and the autonomy of the guild and intermediate group.