600 State checks used to influence Chiriqui voters – deputy

THE USE of State resources to influence a local CD candidate’s election campaign has been cited by a losing candidate as the base for challenging the result.

Deputy Jorge Alberto Rosas presented a challenge on Wednesday May 14 to the results of the May 4 election in the 4-6 circuit of Chiriquí in which CD candidate Ana Giselle Rosas de Vallarino, his cousin, was elected.

Rosas, who is a member of the Molirena party but ran with the Panameñistas, denounced the alleged use of state resources by the CD candidate. He said that, 15 days before the election, more than 600 checks were issued by the Remedios Community Board to residents of the circuit, reports La Prensa.
Roses presented the complaint at the Tribunal Electoral (TE) accompanied by Panameñista deputies Adolfo Valderrama and José Luis Varela and PRD Deputy-elect Pedro Miguel González.
González denounced attempts by relatives of President Ricardo Martinelli to bribe members of the PRD caucus.
"If you see any members of the PRD passing to the ranks of the CD on July 1, it is due to their purchase by Ricardo Martinelli," he said.