Supreme Court of Justice Olmedo Arrocha on Mulino

You may have heard statements Thursday night on TV made by the judge of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ), Olmedo Arrocha, the person appointed to report on the proceedings of its meetings of the unconstitutionality lawsuit against the presidential candidacy of José Raúl Mulino.  Arrocha let it be known that the ruling of the Supreme Court could not be issued before the general elections on May 5 because documentation from the Electoral Court is needed but not available. 

He also mentioned that the president of the college can call extraordinary sessions when there are five magistrates available, which is not the case at the moment, because the majority of the Judges in Panama went on holidays at the same time.  Does that sound unusual to you?  It would appear that the Judges in Panama don’t want such involvement before the election.  If they rule to remove Mulino, the current front runner of the Presidential race before May 5, all hell could break loose in Panama and they would be blamed and at risk.  Instead the Judges can make a decision, well after the election, after they see how the vote went.

“Judge Arrocha on the Mulino case: ‘Five judges and the President of the Court can call an extraordinary plenary session’.”  As the reporting magistrate, Arrocha must prepare a draft ruling and present it to the Plenary Session of the Court’s magistrates.  Arrocha also gave explanations about judicial times and took the opportunity to highlight that the Plenary Session of the Supreme Court can be convened in an ordinary and extraordinary manner at the request of five magistrates or by the president of the Court, María Eugenia López.

If José Raúl Mulino loses the election, the Judges can rule against him without any worries.  If Mulino wins the election, they can vote against him and take him out of office, but most likely they wouldn’t because, as former President of Panama Mireya Moscoso admitted the other day, she was in favor of José Raúl Mulino being able to participate in the May 5 elections and emphasized that it is the Panamanian people who appoint the presidents.  Thus insinuating that it is not a group of Judges who appoint the President of the country.  If you are a voter, vote for the candidate of your choice, whoever you believe will do the best job for Panama.