Women deputies present lawsuit against electoral reforms

Three women lawmakers from different benches accompanied by a group from political women’s organizations were at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 26 to present a lawsuit of unconstitutionality against the electoral reforms approved in the National Assembly.

The lawsuit was filed by the PRD Zulay Rodríguez; Ana Giselle Rosas, from Cambio Democrático and Yesenia Rodríguez, for the Panameñista Party.

Four articles of Law 247, which reforms the Electoral Code, which were sued as unconstitutional. Among these articles is number seven, which modifies article No. 22 of the Electoral Code because it empowers the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal to exclude from the Electoral Roll those who have not participated in three elections. In the applicants’ view, this violates the right to vote and political participation.

Numeral 3 of article No. 117 is also being sued, which modifies article No. 301 of the Electoral Code, which makes a distinction in electoral offers, for example, it makes mandatory the primaries for president in parties with more than 100,000 adherents.

This would be the first lawsuit against the electoral reforms, which were approved on October 15 in the National Assembly, amid questions from organized civil society, the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal, and organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Industries, and Agriculture.

The plenary session of the Assembly approved  October 21, in a third debate – amid citizen complaints – the presidential veto of just one article of the electoral reforms.