Keith Woolford Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 The Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Town Hall event at the Feria next Thursday March 28th to meet local candidates for election and hear their proposals. Seating is limited . Free admission tickets can be picked up at various locations while they last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted March 22, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted March 22, 2019 Quote Electoral court admits challenge to wannabe mayor Martinelli Posted 21/03/2019 The Fifth Electoral Court, has Court, has admitted the challenges to the candidacies of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, for the positions of mayor and deputy of the Circuit 8-8. The fifth judge Elvia María Rengifo fulfilled the process of admitting the claims filed by Jonathan Carrión, Daniel Ramírez and Jorge Hernán Rubio. The plaintiffs allege that Martinelli did not comply with the requirement to have his fixed address in Panama for his candidacies, because he was living in Miami, United States, from 2015 until last year when he was extradited in the to face trial for illegal surveillance of citizen communication.j https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/electoral-court-admits-challenge-to-wannabe-mayor-martinelli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) Local elections are heating up. Boquete mayoralty candidate Joswar Alvarado is crying foul as it appears fires were deliberately set below his publicity signs. Edited March 26, 2019 by Keith Woolford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted March 27, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted March 27, 2019 Quote Candidate shifts blame for outcry after attack on journalist Yanibel Abrego Posted 26/03/2019 Yanibel Ábrego, president of the National Assembly, whose supporters in a bid to be re-elected as deputy for Capira recently attacked a journalist who tried to film her distribution of food packets to potential voters. blames the "economic power" of the country for attacking her in an "excessive manner" while ignoring the support that she has among the population she claims to represent. On the Nex TV, she said "Definitely you all know that apart from being the candidate for deputy of 8-2 I am the president of the [National] Assembly, and I am the general secretary of a party [ Cambio Democrático]. The truth is that economic power does not forgive a woman like me, of humble background, have the position that they have, they attack me in an excessive way without knowing the support that I have in my circuit, Her comment came after several sectors of the country questioned her for promoting clientelistic practices in her its circuit to win votes. La Prensa reports that residents from different towns of Capira confirmed this media that Ábrego gives away bags of food and construction materials, among other things, with the purpose of gaining political support and being re-elected for the third time. On Sunday, March 17 a group of her is supporters assaulted a journalist Mauricio Valenzuela, at a time when documenting a meeting where supposedly would be distributed bags of food would be distributed, The event occurred in Cirí de Los Sotos, in the mountainous area of the circuit. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/candidate-shifts-blame-for-outcry-after-attack-on-journalist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted March 30, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted March 30, 2019 Quote President reacts to candidate’s gang links report Teresina Vigil Pérez daughter of the candidate has a relationship with gang member, Carlos Roberto Aguilar Becerra, alias Rober. His truck is used by Vigil Pérez in his campaign. Posted 29/03/2019 President he president of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela, reacted on Thursday, March 28 to reports in La Prensa revealing that Elías Vigil, the candidate of the president’s Panameñista Party, competing for a seat in the National Assembly that covers some red areas dominated by gangs uses a vehicle linked to gang leaders. "My job is to fight against organized crime. What the newspaper describe today is a problem that is affecting many sectors of society and even the political parties, "said Varela. The President called for the cases to be investigated and prosecuted if the authorities so determine. Organized crimeLa Prensa noted in its report that "Elías Vigil Pérez, who is tunning to become a deputy for the circuit 8-10, which includes the corregimientos considered red zones of the province of Panama, uses in his campaign a vehicle of Carlos Roberto Aguilar Becerra, alias "Rober", linked to a gang known as HP, which local authorities associated with criminal activities, including extortion, robbery, murder and organized crime. " https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/president-reacts-to-candidates-gang-links-report Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted March 30, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted March 30, 2019 Quote Armed men invade campaign office Invaders caught on camera Posted 29/03/2019 Three men carrying firearms entered the campaign headquarters of Molirena candidate Víctor Martínez in Camino Real de Betania, at 11:00 am on Friday, March 29. Tatiana Alemán, deputy of Martinez accompanied by her driver and an assistant arrived while the men were in the office. Martinez said that his deputy threw a manilla envelope containing money to the criminals who upon hearing the noise of other people who were inside the premises ran out and got into a taxi. The cameras installed in the place captured the subjects and are part of the evidence to the complaint filed by lawyer Martinez. In Martinez's opinion, it has a political background because there is no object of value in the premises. "I think this has more to do with the constant complaints I make about corruption," he said. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/armed-men-invade-campaign-office Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 1, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 1, 2019 Quote Candidate one of two gunned down at soccer field Posted 31/03/2019 An independent candidate in the upcoming election was one of two men gunned down on Sunday afternoon, March 31 as they sat talking on the side of a soccer field in Rana de Oro. Pedregal. Two others were injured. Fidel Álvarez, the candidate died at the JJ Vallarino Hospital of the Social Security Fund, where he was taken to receive medical attention. He was well known in the area as an organizer of soccer tournaments, one of which was played two hours before his death. The other victim.Edwin Romero Sáenz. died at the crime scene., The two injured men are reported to be out of danger. According to official reports, the assassins arrived in a white sedan fired and then fled. The vehicle was abandoned near the area where they committed the crime. Units of the National Police that arrived quickly at the scene initiated a search for the vehicle and found it abandoned in Calle s Q, Villa-Lobos, Pedregal, according to police commissioner Jorge Miranda https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/candidate-one-of-two-gunned-down-at-soccer-field Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 4, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 4, 2019 Quote OPINION: Mayoralty race painfuk choices Wannabe mayor avoiding justice Posted 03/04/2019 The electoral offer for the city of Panama, political, economic and cultural center of our country, is painful: an ex-president without values or proposals that has been using tricks to evade justice for years; a veteran of parties and seats that has shown that he knows how to win elections, but something else? a novice politician, a precocious student of clientelism, who jumped into public life at the hands of Juan Carlos Varela and seems to be fired by him; and an independent of unknown generals. The capital comes from a progressive administration that had great mistakes, especially in terms of execution, but that prompted a coherent plan with the ideal of a city that we all want: more orderly, friendly to the pedestrian, with more parks, efficient services and a special interest for the culture. There is nothing to suggest that any of the current aspirants will continue that project or provide a better concept for the development of that space that is home to a large part of the inhabitants of this country. Not in vain a high percentage of respondents expresses their dissatisfaction by saying that they will vote for "none", while the same remains unclear to whom they will vote. It will be a very difficult decision, without a doubt-LA PRENSA, Apr. 3 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/opinion-mayoralty-race-painfuk-choices-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Doug Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) It appears that the unfortunate misspelling in the headline of the story just above describes the situation perfectly. Edited April 4, 2019 by Uncle Doug clarification of which headline 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 6, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 6, 2019 See also http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/6676-miscellaneous-corruption-probes-prosecutions-and-the-legal-system-that-prosecutes-the-accused/?do=findComment&comment=34237. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 9, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 9, 2019 Quote Crime probes loom over 16 election candidates Six parties have nominated candidates with questionable backgrounds Posted 08/04/2019 At least 16 candidates for a seat in the National Assembly are under investigation by the Public Ministry or have been condemned by a court of justice. Unjustified enrichment, embezzlement, money laundering, are some of the judicial files hanging over election hopefuls a La Prensa investigation reveals. They were nominated by different political parties or are running as independents. Included in the list are, former ministers Guillermo Ferrufino and Alma Cortés, nominated by Cambio Democrático (CD); the former mayor of Colon Dámaso García, (Alliance); the former mayor of Chame Euclides Mayorga, ( Panameñista and Partido Popular.) Also on the list is Julio Mendoza, PRD) and Esteban Rodríguez (Molirena) César Herrera, in La Chorrera. was recently arrested for alleged irregularities in the economic compensation to owners of buses. The report also lists cases in the Supreme Court faced by current deputies who seek re-election. The former mayor of Colón Dámaso García is investigated for alleged embezzlement in a consulting contract, and for allegedly having on the payroll 21 people who charged without working. Ana Giselle Rosas, (CD) was sentenced to six months jail in (to pay with fine days) and 1 year of disqualification from public office for using State resources in the 2014 campaign. Julio Mendoza, (PRD) has a probe for the alleged commission of crimes against the economic order with checks and credit cards. Euclides Mayorga, the ex-Chame mayor, was sentenced to 3- years in prison for crimes against the public administration. The former director of the Institute of Agricultural Marketing (IMA) Edwin Candín Cárdenas, nominated by the Panameñista Party and the Popular Party (PP) is prosecuted for the alleged crime against the public administration to the detriment of the IMA. Lilia Batista, (CD), was accused of having irregularly managed over $6 million in circuital scams by deputies in the past five years. Ex-minister Alma Cortés, ( CD) faces investigations for alleged irregularities in travel expenses when serving as a minister, and for unjustified enrichment. Rafael Reyes, ( Alliance) is investigated for the alleged commission of a crime against the economic patrimony. Sara Montenegro a candidate for alternate deputy of Crispiano Adames. was a lawyer for the Mossack- Fonseca firm. of Panama Papers ignomy is investigated for money laundering linked to companies created in Brazil. Ex-Minister Guillermo Ferrufino, (CD) is charged with corruption of public servants and unjustified enrichment. Juan Carlos Bermúdez (Alianza) is also a target. The anti-corruption prosecutor requested the lifting of electoral immunity to prosecute him for a case whose details are unknown. Former President Ricardo Martinelli, , is on trial for alleged spying on communications. The Electoral Court is analyzing the withdrawal of electoral immunity from Javier Sucre, (PRD) at the request of the anti-corruption prosecutor's office, investigating him for alleged of crimes against the administration. Esteban Rodríguez, (Molirena) is prosecuted for presumed embezzlement, for alleged irregularities in compensation to withdrawn bus owners. LOOKING BACK In the list of postulates are candidates who have been acquitted by courts or have been central figures in scandals. Samuel Bennett, (CD), was processed for unjustified enrichment. The Supreme Court of Justice acquitted him. Ex-legislator Miguel Bush (Alliance). was investigated by the Court for alleged irregularities in the use of circuital items. Enrique Garrido, ex-Panameñista Party, and now Molirena, investigated for the alleged use of public funds in politics. Carlos Duboy, former administrator of Tocumen SA and close to President Juan Carlos Varela, confessed that he managed donations from the Odebrecht construction company for the Panameñista Party. Porfirio Bolita Ellis (CD), was investigated for alleged irregularities in the Ronos de Tonosí project. https://www.newsroompanama.com/media-watch/crime-probes-hang-over-16-election-candidates-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 10, 2019 Quote Supporters bused in for no-show capo Martinelli missed his supporters Posted 09/04/2019 Scores of CD Party supporters were bused to the Electoral Tribunal in Ancon on Tuesday, April 9 but Ricardo Martinelli the man they were waiting to cheer was a no- show. The Ministry of Government (Mingob) , through the Directorate General of the Penitentiary System, reported that the transfer of Martinelli , detained in El Renacer prison, to the hearing to challenge his candidacies for mayor and deputies was not requested. In a statement, the Mingob explains that the Penitentiary System received on the morning of a note from the Fifth Electoral Court, in which the general director is notified about the holding of a hearing for Martinelli Berrocal, “ However, his transfer was is not requested for his presence at the hearing. " "In communication via email, the Penitentiary System was informed that the presence of the inmate was not required in order to hold the hearing," the press release adds. The Mingob recalled that Article 40 of Executive Decree 393 of August 25, 2005, which regulates the Panamanian Penitentiary System, establishes that it can only carry out transfers of persons deprived of liberty through the order of judicial authority, with a minimum advance of 72 days. hours, except in urgent need of the immediate appearance of the person. Prior to the start of the hearing in the Fifth Electoral Court predictably, the defense of the former president denounced that the authorities did not authorize the transfer of Martinelli. The edict that established the hearing date for the challenges was posted on the TE website on April 2, a document that was signed by Judge Elvia María Rengifo and the court secretary Mónica Alejandra Manzanares Valenzuela. The judge had also informed that this process would be done with or without the presence of the challenged. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/supporters-bused-in-for-no-show-capo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 (edited) Vote buying is in full swing. A candidate down in Baru is passing out new bicycles. Edited April 12, 2019 by Keith Woolford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 12, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 12, 2019 Quote Jailed Martinelli can run for Panama Mayor Posted 11/04/2019 Panama’s former president Ricardo Martinelli detained in jail while on trial for illegal spying on over 150 pf his fellow countrymen while in office, will be able to participate in the elections on May 5 and plans to run for Mayor of the capital city as a stepping stone to running for president in 2024. The fifth electoral judge, Elvia Rengifo, dismissed the challenges " for inadmissibility " filed against the two candidacies of Martinelli: mayor of the city of Panama and deputy of the circuit 8-8, nominated by the parties Democratic Change and Alliance. The 24-page ruling is signed by Rengifo and the court secretary Monica Manzanares. The decision was announced on Thursday, two days after holding the challenge hearing, in response to the demands filed by Jorge Hernán Rubio, Daniel Ramírez and Jonathan Carrión, on the grounds that the former president did not comply with the residency requirement in the electoral constituency. The plaintiffs allege that Martinelli was out of the country from January 28, 2015, to June 11, 2018 , when he was extradited by the United States at the request of the Supreme Court , to be tried for allegedly spying on opponents during his term. Since then, he has been provisionally detained in the El Renacer prison, in Cristóbal, province of Colón. Article 291 of the Electoral Code establishes that to be a candidate it is required to be a resident in the district, at least one year before the date of the election. Rubio and Carrión argued in that Martinelli took up residence at the Atlantis building located on Brickell Avenue, Miami, in addition to detailing the purchase of real and personal property. Rubio even provides "a document identified as the driver's license of Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal, which, according to the plaintiff, proves the home settlement outside of Panama by the challenged." reports La Prensa Judge Rengifo considered that the electoral residence of Martinelli "is accredited in the National Electoral Organization Directorate of the Electoral Tribunal, which corresponds to the corregimiento of San Francisco, district and province of Panama, since 1993", so it complies with the constitutional and legal requirements to aspire to the positions of mayor and deputy of the circuit 8-8. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/jailed-martinelli-can-run-for-panama-mayor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 15, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 15, 2019 Quote President confirms politicians’ narco- trafficking gang links Posted 14/04/2019 President, Juan Carlos Varela confirmed on Saturday, April 13 that the recently arrested narco-trafficking bosses have links to politicians is, but declined to give names, saying that was the job of the public prosecutor’s office (MP). The capos are now detained in the El Coco maximum detention center on an island in the Pacific referred to as Varela said Panama’s Alcatraz the latest arrests of people linked to drug trafficking have caused a change in the province of Colon, although there are politicians close to the gangs and who seek their support regardless of the consequences reports Mi Diario. he reiterated that he will not give names and that has to be the Public Prosecutor. He stressed that in Colón there is a rate of 26 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants because it is from this province that drugs are shipped to Europe https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/president-confirms-politicians-narco-trafficking-gang-links-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 16, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 16, 2019 Quote Deputy linked to notorious gang seeks re-election Posted 15/04/2019 A lawmaker linked to a notorious gang leader, detained in Punta Coco, the maximum security prison reserved for Panama’s most dangerous criminals is running for re-election. PRD deputy Deputy Alfredo Fello Pérez seeks re-election in the circuit 8-4 (Chepo, Balboa, Chimán, Taboga) is linked to Carlos Mosquera, alias Calitín, accused of gangs and drug trafficking reports La Prensa. A sentimental relationship with Nitzia Pérez sister of the sister of the deputy, with Mosquera which produced a son, led them to participate in joint-stock companies with Mosquera, leader of the Calor Calor gang linked to drug trafficking. The deputy, his sister, and Mosquera created Versace Internacional CO., SA, and Agro Darién SA, in 2010 to "win" tenders in the government of Ricardo Martinelli since they would have the influence of a member of the Molirena party, which was part of that administration. In 2012 in the port of Balboa, several containers of the company Agro Darién SA were found containing cocobolo, an endangered species whose extraction and commercialization is prohibited. Pérez was called to trial after being elected deputy in 2014. The case went to the Supreme Court where it sits Perez has three other complaints in the Court for writing checks without funds. La Prensa describes him as “a deputy of few words in the National Assembly low profile and little presentation of laws, a man with a peasant accent, but with suspicious connections. Intelligence information links Calitín Mosquera with the Calor Calor gang and with the capture of 320 kilograms of cocaine, war weapons and luxury cars on a farm in Chame. The deputy, who recently challenged the leadership of the PRD by voting in favor of the Minister of the Presidency, Jorge González, to become a director in the Panama Canal Authority, faces, at least, five processes in the Supreme Court. One was admitted on April 7, 2016, referring to a complaint filed by the then National Environment Authority, now Ministry of Environment, related to an alleged attempt to export cocobolo wood to China, through the La Colina, SA Center for Wood and Furniture, and in which the deputy is indicated. The other process related to the presumed wood trafficking was admitted on December 21, 2017. Cocobolo has a high demand from countries in Asia, Europe, as well as the US. Judge Angela Russo is the prosecutor of the cases involving bounced checks and she recently asked the Electoral Tribunal to lift the electoral penal jurisdiction (immunity) of deputy Fello Pérez but has not yet received a response. La Prensa called the deputy Fello Perez for his version of his links with Mosquera, and the cases in the Court, but got no reply. https://www.newsroompanama.com/media-watch/deputy-linked-to-notorious-gang-seeks-re-election Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 17, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 17, 2019 Quote Appeal against Martinelli mayoralty bid ruling Jorge Hernán Rubio Posted 16/04/2019 The lawyer Jorge Hernán Rubio has filed an appeal to revoke the decision of the fifth electoral judge, Elvia Rengifo, who dismissed the challenges to the two candidates for elected office of former President Ricardo Martinelli. Rubio, who is a candidate for deputy in the circuit 8-7, insists that Martinelli does not meet the minimum residence time to aspire to the positions of mayor of Panama City and deputy of 8-8. "Mr. Martinelli does not meet and does not meet the basic requirements to be nominated and aspire to a popular office, proof of this is that he voluntarily left the Panamanian territory on January 28, 2015, and was returned forcibly on June 11, 2018, without the faintest minimum intention of returning, and was extradited as a rebel to the Republic of Panama, "said Rubio in the appeal t presented on Tuesday April 16 by his attorney José Luis Carrera . Rubio points out that the obligation to reside in the electoral district "is not a whim, but is born of desire, the intention of the legislator that there is contact between the candidate and the voter at least one year before." In her ruling, Judge Rengifo said that Martinelli's electoral residence "meets the constitutional and legal requirements " to aspire to a deputy, on the grounds that the residence of the ex-president who is being held in El Renacer prison, while being tried. for illegal wiretapping, established in the electoral roll does not show "any update since 1993". In an 11-page document, the plaintiff says Ricardo Martinelli cannot be nominated, much less be a candidate to the position of popular election in the upcoming elections. T "the controversy does not address whether Ricardo Martinelli appears as a citizen in the voter registry, whether or not he can exercise his vote in the elections of May 5 of this year." The subject that is discussed is whether a person who evidently does not reside in the constituency and much less in the electoral circuit for which he or she is being nominated, may or may not be nominated. even worse, being a candidate for a popular election, when he does not meet, the requirements that are contemplated in both the Law and the Constitution. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/appeal-against-martinelli-mayoralty-bid-ruling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 17, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 17, 2019 Quote Sentenced to jail, but ok'd to campaign Ana Giselle Rosas paid to skip jail now . campagning for election Posted 16/04/2019 The magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal (TE) haves revoked t a judgment of a trial court that condemned to jail a candidate running and banned her from public office for a year. l On January 2, Ana Giselle Rosas, candidate for Democratic Change deputy (CD) was sentenced to six months in prison (paid with a per diem fine instead of actual jail time) and one year of disqualification to exercise public functions, The Court considered at that time that she, illegitimately used state assets and resources in the 2014 campaign. On Tuesday, April 15 magistrates Heriberto Araúz, Eduardo Valdés Escoffery, and Alfredo Juncá, concluded that "there is no evidence in the file that determines the criminal responsibility of the defendant in the crime for which she is judged." After the ruling the sentence issued by the Temporary Discharge Trial Court of the Third Judicial District was revoked, Ana Giselle Rosas was informed of this decision. which allows her to stay in the electoral contest. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/sentenced-to-jail-but-okd-to-campaign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 20, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 20, 2019 Quote Citizen insecurity as politicians waffle Posted 19/04/2019 Citizen insecurity is one of the great concerns that afflict Panamanians. It is no coincidence that the seven presidential candidates have within their government plans the use of different strategies of soft hands, hard hands, increased strength of the security forces, expansion of the penitentiary centers, increased coverage of the surveillance cameras, strengthening of social reinsertion initiatives and the reform of the country codes. To a large extent, these efforts seek to replace a serious lack: the lack of a criminological policy of the Panamanian State. For the last fifteen years, the call of the State Pact for Justice to agree on public policy on this matter has been ignored. Thus, the Panamanian security forces are endowed with vast resources and have important response capacities, but they do not effectively cover the population, which is a victim of micro-crime, intra-family violence and the deterioration of their quality of life due to public disorder. The great challenge is to make a State policy that protects us all. – LA PRENSA, April. 19 https://www.newsroompanama.com/opinion/citizen-insecurity-as-politicians-waffle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 There is a good summary of the nation's discontent in this Bloomberg News report. Throw the Bums Out: Anti-Establishment Fever Sweeps Into Panama By David Papadopoulos April 16, 2019, 9:40 AM GMT-5 Step off the plane in Panama City and one of the first things you notice is the anti-establishment furor building in the country. General elections are to be held in a few weeks. But Panamanians seem to care less about who the top presidential candidates are -- there’s a lot of them -- and what their policy positions might be than they do about tossing the incumbents out of Congress. They’re fed up with the ruling class, just like folks are in Brazil and Italy and Poland and on and on. The principal causes here are similar to those found elsewhere: a sluggish economy coupled with a string of corruption scandals, including, of course, the Panama Papers. The movement first popped up a while ago on social media under the hashtag #NoALaReeleccion and has taken hold across the city since. It’s scrawled on signs held by campaign volunteers. It’s plastered on billboards. (As is the image of a rat, which has become something of a nasty symbol for embattled incumbents.) And it’s on the T-shirts donned by waitresses. Fifty of the 71 lawmakers in Panama’s unicameral legislature are seeking re-election, according to local newspaper La Prensa. Thirty-one of them have been in office for at least a decade. The president, an unpopular centrist named Juan Carlos Varela, is prohibited by law from seeking a second term. On a steamy Sunday afternoon, I ran into an elderly woman who sells coconut water out of a little shack a few miles from the Panama Canal. We chatted some and when the conversation turned to politics, she suddenly became animated, giving voice, it seemed, to scores of Panamanians who are sick of the old guard and want to try their luck with a new generation of leaders. “You’re going to tell me that you’re going to do something for the country now after you did nothing all these years?” she said with a look of disgust on her face. She had just swiftly cracked open the coconut she handed me with a machete, so I certainly wasn’t going to argue with her. This whole #NoALaReeleccion thing is pretty intense. It’s no laughing matter, I quickly found out. Over lunch at a traditional spot in the San Francisco neighborhood called Jimmy, I joked, somewhat loudly, that maybe someone should start an opposing movement. They could call it “Si a La Reeleccion.” The locals at my table were mortified. They hushed me up and urged me never to utter such words in public again. Or at least, that is, until after election day -- Sunday, May 5. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-16/throw-the-bums-out-anti-establishment-fever-sweeps-into-panama?fbclid=IwAR3rRnp_Uw8Mt6VAqt0reaqH2iEuYJg0cPJEc8rlfB28TAbNTU-_mnYeb1w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 23, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 23, 2019 Quote Business Chamber lists Education, Health top needs Posted 22/04/2019 Education, Health and Social Security should be the principal focus of Panam’s next government says The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture of Panama (Cciap) The business group said in a statement released on Sunday, April 21 that the new government administration "will have the opportunity to solve pressing national problems, such as those identified in our Country Agenda 2019-2024 ". According to the Chamber, the country cannot wait any longer "for a transformation of its educational system", which would make possible the personal and professional fulfillment of its current and future generations. "In that sense, and in the immediate future, the full functioning of the Permanent Multisectorial Council for the Implementation of the National Commitment for Education should be supported and strengthened, with a view to ensuring compliance with the policies and lines of action adopted in the matter, "said the statement The Cciap proposed creating a 'comprehensive health system' between the Ministry of Health and the Social Security Fund. It also stressed that the operation of the Specialized Higher Technical Institute must be ensured, both with the resources that ensure its sustained operation over time, and with the equipment and human resources that guarantee excellence ". On the issues of health and social security, the chamber stressed Cciap highlighted "the need to set up a dialogue table for the Social Security Fund (CSS), in order to know its real financial status, with the objective of" making the necessary adjustments " It also Similarly, the business association raised the urgent need to create "a comprehensive health system, Ministry of Health and CSS", which must have "a process of coordination and approval to achieve the goal of effective integration." The CSS must devote itself primarily to the Disability, Old Age and Death Program (IVM). "The CSS should divide its board of directors into a part responsible for the administrative and health provision, and the other dedicated to the IVM program," said the chamber’s proposal. https://www.newsroompanama.com/health/business-chamber-lists-education-health-top-needs-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 24, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 24, 2019 On 4/1/2019 at 6:36 PM, Moderator_02 said: https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/candidate-one-of-two-gunned-down-at-soccer-field Quote Suspects in candidate killing arrested Posted 23/04/2019 Two people allegedly involved in the gunning down of independent electoral candidate Fidel Álvarez were arrested on Tuesday, April 23, according to the Public Prosecutor's Office (MP). Álvarez was killed on March 31, in a public area in the sector known as the Golden Frog. Another person who was with Álvarez at the time of the shooting was also killed. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/suspects-in-candidate-killing-arrested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 25, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 25, 2019 Quote Martinelli’s political hopes get fresh jolt Posted 24/04/2019 Former President Ricardo Martinelli’s battle to run for election on May 5 hit another stumbling block on Wednesday, April 24 ,when-when the magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal (TE)declared "unproven" the incident of challenges filed by Martinelli’s lawyer Alma Cortés, against Judges Alfredo Juncá and Eduardo Valdés Escoffery, within the process of appealing the dismissal of the challenge against Martinelli’s the candidacies for mayor of Panama and deputy of the circuit 8-8 Through two edicts, the TE said that the magistrates Heriberto Araúz, Yara Campo and Myrtha Varela de Durán dismissed Martinelli's appeal seeking that judges Juncá and Valdés Escoffery declare themselves unable to hear the appeal against the ruling. of the fifth electoral judge, Elvia Rengifo, who on April 11 declared the candidacies of Martinelli legal. The appeal was filed by Jorge Hernán Rubio, candidate for deputy for the Partido Popular in circuit 8-7, and by attorney Daniel Ramírez, who allege that the ex-ruler does not comply with the time of residence in the country, as established in Article No. 291 of the Electoral Code, which states that to be a candidate you must be a resident in the district at least one year before the date of the election. Martinelli was jailed in Miami on June 12, 2017, while extradition proceedings were underway, and has been in El Renacer Prison since his involuntary return to Panama on June 11 last year. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinellis-political-hopes-get-fresh-jolt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 26, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 26, 2019 Quote Public can access reports of miss-spending deputies Posted 25/04/2019 With just a week to go before campaigning ends Panama’s Comptroller Federico Humbert, gave a fillip to no-to re-election proponents reminding that the institution has presented 20 complaints in the Supreme Court Humbert said on Thursday, April 25 that first a group of 14 complaints was filed and that on Wednesday, April 24, six complaints were filed against officials of the National Assembly before the Public Prosecutor's Office. According to Humbert, the audit reports are based on the irregular handling of the funds. "I have always said that the strength of a state rests on the integrity of its officials, unfortunately, there are many people in the Assembly who have not helped in the strength of the nation," Humbert said. Additionally On the other hand, the comptroller said that members of the public who want to know which deputies handled donations can go to http://www.contraloria.gob.pa/CGR.CONSULTAPAGOS/index.aspx. After completing theis audit process, the Office of the Comptroller General forwarded to the web page the payroll and donation contracts that emanate from the report, for from all the deputies of the National Assembly from 2014. https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/public-can-access-reports-of-miss-spending-deputies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Moderator_02 Posted April 27, 2019 Author Moderators Share Posted April 27, 2019 Quote Martinelli blocked from mayoralty race Frustrated Martinelli screams "Electoral fraud " Posted 26/04/2019 Panama’s Electoral Tribunal (TE)has given the thumbs down to Ricardo Martinelli’s attempt to run for mayor of Panama or for deputy in the May 5 elections leaving the former president screaming “Electoral fraud” at media when he entered a courtroom on Friday, April 26 for the continuation of his illegal wiretapping trial With the ruling controversial deputy Sergio Gálvez, a self- described “sexual buffalo” may . of Martinelli may be the mayoral candidate and Mayín Correa the 8-8 circuit CD deputy nominees, and mayor of Panama, Sergio Gálvez. The document containing s the decision of the magistrates is dated April 25, 2019, and was made public on Friday morning. The appeal decision bears the signature of judges Eduardo Valdés Escoffery and Alfredo Juncá; while Heriberto Araúz saved his vote. The magistrates argued that the candidacies of Martinelli to mayor of Panama and deputy for the circuit 8-8 are inadmissible. The candidacies were challenged by Rubio and the lawyer David Ramírez, because, in their his opinion, they do not comply with the Electoral Code, which establishes that to run as the main or alternate candidate of mayor, councillor or representative of corregimiento, requires "to be a resident of the corresponding electoral district, at least one year before the date of the election". Martinelli was in a Miami detention center for a year from June 12, 2017, and since his return to Panama on June 12, 1018, has been held in El Reanacer prison Rubio said that, after the decision of the TE, the electoral panorama is already clear, with a view to the elections of May 5 next. He also said that a clear message is sent that in the next electoral reform "we are beginning to put order". In his opinion, the current Electoral Code "is very permissive." Rómulo Roux, CD presidential candidate said "It is an injustice, not only for Ricardo Martinelli but also for democracy and for Panamanians,"The two candidatures of Martinelli had been presented by the Democratic Change and Alliance parties. With this ruling, the magistrates explain that both Correa and Gálvez can participate in the next elections, but without alternates https://www.newsroompanama.com/news/martinelli-blocked-from-mayoralty-race-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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