Electoral reform forum questions shield for Martinelli ruling

The Citizen Forum for Electoral Reforms on Wednesday, March 30, questioned the decision of the plenary session of the Electoral Tribunal (TE) to maintain the electoral jurisdiction of former President Ricardo Martinelli and advocated the elimination of that legal figure that only “serves as a shield for candidates and elected authorities to prevent them from facing justice.”

In a statement, the Forum pointed out that the best evidence is that it only serves to shield ” the legal cases that have been hindered and sometimes dismissed due to the abusive way in which this figure is used.”

It also indicated that it has witnessed the “foolish and contradictory position” of the TE regarding the ruling on Martinelli’s jurisdiction.  “It  analyzed issues that are not within its competence and that completely distort the original meaning of this jurisdiction, which has had and will have serious consequences for electoral political institutions.”

The plenary session of the TE, through a March 22, resolution signed by Heriberto Araúz and Alfredo Juncá,   agreed to suspend a decision of the Second Administrative Electoral Court that, a month earlier, had ordered to lift the criminal jurisdiction Martinelli election. Judge Eduardo Valdés saved his vote