OPINION: When losers remain winners

One of the worst peculiarities of the Panamanian electoral system is the possibility of the same person being a candidate for several positions simultaneously. However, article 298 of the Electoral Code obliges whoever is elected in two or more positions, to choose one and leave the other in the hands of the substitute. If, within five days of the proclamation, the selected position has not been communicated, the Electoral Tribunal has the power to grant him the highest position. It is absurd that in the 21st century, our democracy still tolerates this type of trickery. In the general elections, held on May 5, there was a presidential candidate who was also a candidate for deputy. To this is added the multiplicity of candidacies for deputies and representatives of corregimiento simultaneously, including a well-known representative, deputy and mayor of the capital city. With the results of the electoral tournament, it is now expected that the favored politicians choose between being mayors or deputies, or even if the modest representation of a corregimiento is sufficient for his personal ambition. In all cases, it is the citizens who lose when the principle of one  person one / a vote does not have as a counterpart one  candidate one a position- LA PRENSA, May 19