OPINION: Political stability under threat

The political uncertainty that currently affects the country originates from the prolonged judicial saga linked to the New Business case, whose main protagonist was Ricardo Martinelli. This judicial tragicomedy, of which we were all witnesses for eight years, was marked not only by procedural abuses and excessive dilatory appeals presented by his legal team, but also by the role played by the Electoral Tribunal (TE) itself. Not only were there unjustified delays in the processes of lifting the criminal electoral jurisdiction of the now convicted former president, but the TE came to recognize the existence of a principle of specialty that had already been invalidated by multiple judicial and diplomatic instances, a decision that the  Supreme Court subsequently declared unconstitutional.

 A few months before the elections and days before the first presidential debate, we once again face a dilemma generated by the TE. It is imperative to reflect on the role of institutions in building a transparent and fair electoral process, and demand that uncertainty be avoided, at all costs, from continuing to undermine the political stability of the country. – LA PRENSA, Feb, 14.