TSE cancels credential of substitute councilor from Buenos Aires due to absences

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) canceled the credential of Jorge Fernández Morales as alternate council member of the Municipality of Buenos Aires, in Puntarenas, for unjustifiably absenting himself from council sessions for more than two months. The decision is contained in resolution No. 8914-M-2026, issued at 11:00 hours on September 21, 2026, and published in La Gaceta No. 188 on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, page 83, within case file No. 301-2026.

Article 24, subsection b), of the Municipal Code establishes as a cause for loss of the council member credential the unjustified absence from the sessions of the respective council for more than two months, a provision that Article 28 of the same regulatory body extends to alternate council members. The TSE applied this framework following official letter No. MBA-SCM-0664-2026 dated August 20, 2026, sent by Marisol Andrea Monge Ortiz, secretary of the Municipal Council of Buenos Aires, in which it was reported that said body, in ordinary session No. 120-2026 on August 19, 2026, agreed to request the cancellation of the credential.

Fernández Morales had been appointed alternate council member of the canton of Buenos Aires through resolution No. 8997-M-2024, at 11:45 hours on December 2, 2024, and was nominated by the party Aquí Costa Rica Manda (PACRM).

Absences and the hearing process

Among the proven facts, the Tribunal noted that the council member did not attend the sessions of the Municipal Council of Buenos Aires between June 24 and August 19, both of 2026. The calculation of the period is carried out according to the regularity of the local body’s sessions and not based on calendar dates, in accordance with the electoral jurisprudence contained in resolution No. 3098-M-2017.

The Presidency of the TSE, through an order at 13:05 hours on August 25, 2026, granted a hearing to Fernández Morales so that, within a term of eight business days starting from the business day following notification, he could justify his absences or state whatever he considered most convenient for his interests. The council member was duly notified of the process, but did not respond to the granted hearing.

Substitution on the PACRM list

Upon the cancellation of the credential, a vacancy was created among the alternate council members of the Municipality, which must be filled according to the rules that determined the election. Article 208, second paragraph, of the Electoral Code empowers the TSE to arrange the substitution by calling to exercise the position, for the remainder of the constitutional period, the person who follows on the same list of the political party of the outgoing official.

• Vacated position: alternate council member of the Municipality of Buenos Aires, Puntarenas province.
• Terminated person: Jorge Fernández Morales, identity card No. 601460506.
• Nominating party: Aquí Costa Rica Manda (PACRM).
• New appointee: María de los Ángeles Rubí Ávila, identity card No. 602830144.
• Validity of the appointment: from the swearing-in until April 30, 2028.

Notifications and publication

The Court ordered the automatic notification of Fernández Morales, as well as Rubí Ávila and the Municipal Council of Buenos Aires, and the publication of the resolution in the Official Gazette. The agreement was drafted by magistrate Max Alberto Esquivel Faerron and also signed by Zetty María Bou Valverde and Mary Anne Mannix Arnold.

The resolution reinforces the TSE’s criterion that attendance at municipal sessions is an enforceable obligation also for alternate council members, and ensures that the vacancy is filled by the person next on the party’s list, without altering the political representation obtained at the polls.

Source: La Gaceta, No. 188 of Tuesday, October 6, 2026, Supreme Electoral Tribunal Resolutions section, p. 83 (official reference: resolution No. 8914-M-2026, Exp. No. 301-2026).