No PRD-Panamenista alliance says deputy

An electoral alliance between the Panameñista party and the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) is not in the cards says Deputy Jose Isabel Blandon.

He dismissed the possibility of a partnership in the run up to the 2014 elctions on Thursday, August 23. For the opposition deputy the important thing is that the 2014 elections are transparent and that whoever has the votes wins.

The Panameñista party formed an alliance with the Ricardo Martinelli led Democratic Change (CD) party before the last election, when it was understood that in the next election, the presidential candidate would be Juan Carlos Varela who heads the Panameñistas and is the current vice president. Martinelli reneged on the agreement before the break up of the coalition, saying it was up to the CD party to decide who the candidate would be.
He later fired Varela as Foreign Minister, and the coalition disintegrated.
To maintain a majority in the Assembly the CD persuaded some opposition deputies to jump ship, with allegations circulating that large sums of money changed hands to ensure the switches.
The concern, according to Blandon, is that president Martinelli, does not respect the rules of the electoral game and instead alters them.
The Panamenista leader has said on TVN News that if there is a danger that the elections are not transparent "we will unite to face this danger – electorally speaking."