Government reacts to election fraud suggestion

The  presiding judge of Panama’s Electoral Tribunal (TE) warned on Monday, February 13, of the possibility of electoral fraud in the elections of 2014.

According to Judge Gerado Solis, in an interview published by La Prensa, the fear felt by society is based on the retroactive scope that the Supreme Court is giving to its findings. "These retroactive interpretations  given by the Court can vary …  and it seems that we are walking into a court that is going to get into electoral matters," he said.

The government was quick to respond with a statement that the presiding judge of the TE shoud not sow unwarranted fears in the country.
 Luis Eduardo Camacho, a Secretary of State spokesman, read a statement lamenting the testimony offered by Solis.
 According to Camacho, the signs are questioning the "actions of the members of the judiciary" and  questioning the work of his colleagues in the TE.
 The spokesman stressed that electoral fraud like those that occurred during the military dictatorship would only be possible with the participation of Solis's own colleagues.
 The statement also points out the transparency of elections held in Panama during the years 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2009. These campaigns  "have been secured by the election rules now in effect."
 Therefore, it is a "contradiction" that the presiding judge of the ET suggests that transparency and justice in 2014 could be in danger. 

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