More voices call for electoral bill veto

More voices were raised on Sunday September 16 calling for Panama’s President, Ricardo Martinellli to veto of controversial Bill 508 establishing changes to the Electoral Code.

The Bill passed third reading in the the National Assembly on Friday and calls for a presidential veto multiplied one day after the Electoral Tribunal (TE) asked the president to veto the bill.

Pablo Morales, of the the Ecumenical Committee of Panama, noting that the ET is one of the most credible institutions in the country, said: "I hope you [Martinelli] will pay attention to what your judges are saying".
Vice President Juan Carlos Varela in a statement addressed to Martinelli demanded he "do the right thing" and veto the initiative which: "has created anxiety and division among Panamanians".
Former foreign minister and presidential candidate of the Democratic Revolutionary Party, Samuel Lewis Navarro, asked the president to bring peace to the country and kill "this unpopular law introduced without consultation" so they could "get their hands on the internal affairs of the party.”