Move to allow president to serve consecutive terms gets thumbs down

Two Ricardo Martinelli supporters after grandstanding for the cameras in the National Assembly, perhaps hoping to curry favor with their leader,  failed in their attempt to change Panama’s Constitution. 

On Wednesday, January 5, The Credentials Committee of the National Assembly turned down a measure that would have put the proposal to allow a president to serve consecutive terms, to a vote in the Assembly.

There were six votes against the proposal and one abstention.
The bill was introduced by Cambio Democrático (CD) stalwarts, Sergio Gálvez and Vidal García. Political commentators believed their move was a back door attempt by senior members of the government to change the constitution to allow the president to run again in 2014.
If they had gotten their way, the proposal would have gone to the full Assembly, and would then have needed approval in a national referendum.
But it was opposed by both opposition parties and, more significantly the Panameñista Party, which is part of the ruling coalition.
The coalition had been showing signs of cracks over the issue and over the lack of early endorsement of Panameñista leader Juan Carlos Varela for a presidential bid in 2014.
Varela is currently the vice president and, had been promised the support of the CD in his presidential bid in exchange for his support of Ricardo Martinelli during the past election.
Ironically the coalition deal was made at the residence of former US ambassador Barbara Stephenson, who is now demonized by the CD party following Wikileaks revelations of her comments after Martinelli took office.
The issue is not likely to disappear, as Martinelli promised at the opening of the new session of the Assembly that there would be changes to the constitution.