Panama risks becoming one-party autocratic state – Eisenmann

PANAMA will become a one party country with an autocratic government if the Cambio Democratico (CD) party retains power after the next election says I. Roberto Eisenmann.

Speaking on TVN on Monday, December 30 the businessman and founder of La Prensa warned that the political institutions of the country are in crisis, with the intention of the current president Ricardo Martinelli to remain in power.
In an interview on FOX Report, Eisenmann said Martinelli would continue to rule if his wife, Marta Linares de Martinelli was chosen as the running mate of the CD presidential candidate, José Domingo Arias.
Currently, Arias leads the voting intentions, with 34.1%, according to the latest survey by Panama Quantix taken between December 4 and 7.
Eisemann warned of Martinelli 's interest in modifying the Constitution to allow reelection in five years and not 10. If this happened, he said, the two opposition parties will end up purchased by the ruling group and will "almost disappear" .
He stressed the need for the two largest opposition parties, – the PRD  and the Panamenista’s – to join in a partnership, to avoid “a catastrophe."

Eisenmann, with ex comptroller Alvin Weeden and former Minister Mario Galindo– a member review committee of the 1983 Constitution – led a plan to unite PRD presidential candidate Juan Carlos Navarro and Panameñista candidate Juan Carlos Varela.
The plan included the convening of a constituent assembly. In the end, there was no agreement and the deadline set by the Electoral Tribunal to enter electoral alliances for the elections of May 2014, expired on Saturday, December 28.
In the Quantix survey, Navarro gets 25.3% of the voting intention and Varela , 23.7 %. Eisenmann has no preference . " Neither [because ] I don’t have the required democratic conviction," he said.

He predicted that if the CD wins: "We’re going to have an autocratic country with disrupted institutions, a one-party country," where the two largest opposition parties will be purchased in their entirety.