Martinelli Lawyer asks Court to investigate tribunal judge

SIDNEY SITTON, lawyer of former President Ricardo Martinelli moved quickly on Tuesday, April 21 to request that the Supreme Court investigates the presiding judge of the Electoral Tribunal (TE) Erasmo Pinilla, who was frequently at odds with Martinelli.

The document was filed two days after Pinilla admitted that several members of his family were on the payroll of the Electoral Tribunal.
Last week, the National Authority of Transparency and Access to Information (Antai) requested the opening of an investigation into the alleged appointment of eight relatives of Pinilla in the institution.
The Antai asked the TE to include nepotism as a rule in the bodies Code of Ethics, which it did on Monday April 20 and the Tribunal reported that relatives of Pinilla and other judges had resigned.