The Legislative Process For The Referendum Begins Today
The heads of the political parties and the president of the Legislative Assembly, Francisco Antonio Pacheco, are to meet to today to discuss the plans for the referendum and vote on the government decree for a public vote on the Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC) - free trade agreement with the united States, Central America and the Dominican Republic.

The decree was presented to the legislature last Tuesday by the Ministro de la Preidencia, Rodrigo Arias, after it was signed by president Oscar Arias days earlier, as a raction to the decision by the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) authorizing a public vote on the trade deal, following a petition by former presidential candidate, José Miguel Corrales.

The referendum will be the first in Costa Rica's history and is possible to a change in the Constitución Politica on May 16, 2002, which allows a public vote.

The referendum that will be applied to the TLC is binding if only and when 30% or more of the voters on the voting list take part in the public vote.

But, before the referndum can take place, a vote of at least 29 legislative deputies is required and today's meeting is to reach an agreement with the political parties to reach a consensus on the the legislature's time, keeping it to a minimum, in discussions of the motion.

Both the Arais government and the Liberación Nacional party would like to see the discussion cut short and the vote as soon as possible so that the president of the legislature can send the request to the TSE who will hold the referendum.