Luis Arce appoints interim comptroller while the process to elect the head concludes

the president of boliviaLuis Arce, appointed this Monday an interim authority for the State Comptroller General’s Office that will be in office until Parliament concludes the process to elect a head for that institution.

In a ceremony at the Government House, Maple took an oath to Nora Mamani Cabrera as interim Comptroller General to replace Henry Ara, who led the Comptroller since 2016 and whose term ended on July 1.

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“Today we assume the responsibility of appointing the interim state comptroller general as long as our Legislative Assembly complies with the constitutional mandate and appoints the incumbent comptroller,” he claimed.

The president justified the appointment “against the risk that the governing body of the governmental control of the State suspends its functions” and assured that in this way precautions are taken “the national interest” and the service provided by that entity is guaranteed.

Maple called on Parliament and “especially to the opposition caucus, to fulfill its constitutional role” to elect the new incumbent comptroller.

The Legislature began the nomination process on June 24, although so far it has not received a single candidate, according to information released this day by the Bolivian Senate on Twitter.

The application reception phase ends on July 8.

The comptroller general is a high-ranking official whose mission is to monitor and audit the investments and expenses of the various State entities.

The Constitution in force since 2009 shortened the term of office of the comptroller, from ten to six years, and established that after completing his term, the designated authority will not be able to apply again.

The norm also establishes that the comptroller will be appointed by two thirds of votes of the Legislature.

The governmental Movement for Socialism (MAS) has a majority in Parliament, but not two thirds.

Before Ara, Gabriel Herbas was in office for seven years and on an interim basis, who left his role as a MAS deputy to be comptroller.

The regulation to elect the new head of the Comptroller’s Office was approved by the MAS, with criticism from the opposition Citizen Community (CC) and We Believe, who warned that they will not give their support for the appointment, as has happened with another similar process and equally observed for the Ombudsman’s Office.

The opposition accuses the ruling party of trying to place like-minded people in these parliamentary appointment positions to control public institutions, while the MAS points out its detractors for preventing the appointment of new incumbent authorities.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.