New deal for Panama falls at last fence

ATTEMPTS to broker an alliance between two opposition parties to stop the march to the presidential palace of CD candidate Jose Domingo Arias fell to the ground on Thursday December 26. along with hopes of a new deal for Panama.

PRD candidate Juan Carlos Navarro, and Vice President and Panameñista candidate Juan Carlos Navarro ,met at a residence in Punta Barco, San Carlos district to discuss a proposal submitted by businessman I. Roberto Eisenmann, former comptroller Alvin Weeden and attorney Mario Galindo, former member and founder of the Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA).

The paper raised the possibility of a 10-year partnership program in which first Varela would be president because of the constitutional impossibility of him running again for vice president.
The proposal included convening a constituent assembly with the commitment that Varela would support Navarro’s aspirations in 2019.
After the failure to reach an agreement more details came to light of the proposed social, economic and political pact.
There were three salient points in that covenant: the call for a parallel constituent assembly, the inclusion of independents in the cabinet and a change in the method of selecting contractors.
The pact was drawn up "to the living dangers to Panamanian democracy" and would be signed "deposing particular interests." The goal of the opposition alliance was to achieve a resounding electoral victory and a national unity government.
According to the written agreement, the parallel Constituent Assembly would be convened immediately after the new government took office and the new administration would raise to constitutional status, the mandatory, procedures for selecting contractors, "as a mechanism to ensure transparency and public competition."
With only hours to go before electoral alliances have to be registered with the Electoral Tribunal, the new deal is just words on a sheet of paper.