Assembly alliances on rocky ground

THE NATIONAL  Assembly ended  its ordinary session on Monday  October 31  without choosing the person who will replace Judge Erasmo Pinilla in the Electoral Tribunal (TE).

The governing Panameñista party failed to reach an agreement with the PRD over a selection process, meaning the matter will have to either be handled in an extraordinary session or in the next regular session in January.

Panameñista Deputy Adolfo Valderrama was critical of Assembly President and PRD member Rubén De León for not starting the session on Monday and bringing the matter to a vote reports La Prensa

President Juan Carlos Varela has said that he will not call an extraordinary session to address the vacancy.

Political observers say that the failure to reach an agreement on the issue is a sign of the weakening of the political alliance between the two parties. It comes just days after Pedro Miguel González was elected PRD secretary general.

He will guide the party through the next election in 2019.

The Panameñistas had forged an alliance with members of the PRD, including Miguel González, and CD parties to form a legislative alliance.