Arias data pyramid could have serious consequences” – TE judge

THE PYRAMIDAL data collection strategy of the ruling (Democratic Change (CD) party to feed the campaign of presidential José Domingo Arias  is said  unconstitutional and could have serious consequences according to the Electoral Tribunal.

The system provided data of family, employment, and political background of citizen with allegations that much of the data came from government files.

The President of the Electoral Tribunal ( TE), Judge Erasmo Pinilla, said the CD system could have severe consequences . “If it is public information and in the case of the TE database, that would be very serious."
Pinilla said that it was "obvious" that the electoral prosecutor, Eduardo Penaloza, must investigate, because without the performance of that  institution, the TE: “cannot do anything…We all know that there is a serious problem with the Electoral Prosecutor” he said.
According to the Aria system, Penaloza has a wife and children working in the government who are also enrolled in the CD.
After the story was first published by La Prensa the Arias campaign removed some of the most sensitive information and no longer reveals party affiliation , participation in social programs or if the citizen was a government employee.
José Alberto Alvarez, president of the National Bar Association, said that the practice violates Article 29 of the Constitution , which protects the inviolability of private documents of all Panamanians .
Members of the ruling Democratic Change ( CD) have given conflicting accounts about the existence of the site says La Prensa
On the one hand Minister of Labor and Workforce Development, Alma Cortez, who is also the General Secretary of the CD, said a task force is investigating whether the site has been hacked to list unauthorized information.
Legislator José Muñoz, head of the Arias campaign said that the sensitive information of citizens came from a hack and denied that the data on political affiliation, family tree, and participation in state programs were part of the original data base
Luis Eduardo Camacho Jr., activist of the ruling presidential campaign, said in an interview on Metro TV that "those who feed this program are people who are part of the structure of political parties and having affinity with the candidacy of Arias.
Luis Eduardo Camacho , a spokesman for the Arias campaign and Communications Secretary of State , who said that the information was collected through direct interviews and not by state database state .
La Prensa contacted people whose names appeared, along with a photo of their ID card, and they denied having been interviewed.
Alfredo Berrocal of the National Federation of Public Servants (FENASEP ) said that several officials have complained of pressure and offers of perks to participate in the electoral program.
Juan Jované independent presidential candidate, said that the line between state government and political parties was eliminated. "Fascism is when it begins to control the personal lives of people in the interests of those who dominate the state apparatus," he said.
President Ricardo Martinelli, used Twitter to applaud the strategy. . "The Pyramid CD grows with the free advertising in the opposition media (sic). There has been tremendous enthusiasm for signing up. Thank you,” he wrote.