Jailed vote buyer considers appeal

FORMER  CD deputy candidate Heriberto Yunito Vega  jailed  for vote buying and the use of state resources in an election, is considering  an appeal.. 

Vega, who was running for office in Herrera, is the second high-profile person to be sanctioned for election crimes.  His sentence comes two years and four months after the offence.

Ramón Saavedra running as an alternate was also given three years.

In April, fellow CD member Nidia Cureña was fined and disqualified from holding public office for a year for irregularities in Los Santos, where she was seeking re-election as a representative.

Vega, whose companies were awarded close to $23 million in contracts under the administration of former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), is considering an appeal of the sentence or a reduction.

Under the sentence, he cannot run for office in 2019.

Judge Ingrid Murgas Torraza based the decision on testimony from people who witnessed the delivery of bags of food to voters.

There was also evidence that checks were written to individuals from the local community board.