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LatinNews Daily Report - 17 October 2012
In Brief – Panama
JUDICIARY| New TE president picked. On 16 October Panama’s nine-member supreme court of justice picked Heriberto Araúz Sánchez to replace Gerardo Solís as president of the three-member supreme electoral court (TE). Solís’s ten-year term expires on 14 November. The appointment had come under particular scrutiny given the 2014 presidential and legislative elections. Local media such as El Siglo, however, cite legal experts such as Miguel Antonio Bernal and opposition politicians as raising concerns about Araúz’s independence. A professor in constitutional law who previously worked for the General Comptroller’s office, Araúz received the backing of all four of the supreme court justices appointed by President Ricardo Martinelli as well as two others. Araúz was also part of the “committee of notables” appointed by Martinelli to draw up constitutional reforms which are still being discussed. Rogelio Paredes, the second vice-president of the opposition Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD), said that the PRD was on the alert because Araúz supports re-election; Martinelli is constitutionally barred from running for re-election in 2014 and lifting the ban remains highly unpopular within in the country.
