Tribunal rejects call for info on Odebrecht donations

THE ELECTORAL  TRIBUNAL(TE) has rejected a request by  the Independent Movement (Movin) for the publication  of  the political donations made by Odebrecht and Constructora Internacional del Sur  because “the information is confidential.’’

It said the only entities that can access the information are the Public Ministry and the judiciary.

The MOvin requesy was backed by other civic groups and political commentators

TE Judge Heriberto Arúz quoted article 209 of the Electoral Code, which states: “Political parties and candidates for popular elections are obliged to register the private contributions they receive for their operations and campaigns. The information will be handled in a confidential manner and used exclusively to determine that there are no violations of the criminal law.”

Movin asked for the information after Odebrecht admitted it had paid bribes to Panama officials totaling $59 million.