According to the President of the Electoral Court (te), Alfredo Juncá, 19 days before the start of the proselytizing campaign, this norm establishes the obligation to respect the rules of the game in a democratic, participatory, fair, transparent and respectful environment. .
The candidates and parties commit to a political election campaign based on principles and values such as peace, equality, tolerance, respect for the dignity of the person and for the family and private life of candidates for popularly elected offices, the measure says.
Among the candidates for the presidency who signed this pact were Martín Torrijos (Popular Party), Rómulo Roux (Democratic Change), Ricardo Lombana (Other Way Movement) and the independents Melitón Arrocha and Zulay Rodríguez.
“We want a clean competition, without cheap shots, without misinformation, without attacks on the authority, let alone on the personal honor of the candidates or their families,” Juncá added.
For their part, presidential candidates José Gabriel Carrizo (Democratic Revolutionary Party) and Ricardo Martinelli (Realizing Goals) did not attend the event at the TE Auditorium, but sent their vice presidents Camilo Alleyne and José Raúl Mulino, respectively.
Maribel Gordón and Richard Morales, presidential candidate and vice president by free nomination, were absent.
Attorney General Dilio Arcia also drafted the document, while Julio Murray did so on behalf of the Ecumenical Committee of Panama; Roberto Troncoso, for the Citizens Forum for Electoral Reforms; and Dalia Moquera, who represents, among others, the National Women's Forum of political parties.
The Electoral Ethics Pact was created in 1993 to “remember that our main goal is to serve the nation and its people and to ensure free, fair and transparent elections,” Juncá said.
On May 5, Panamanians will vote in elections to decide the country's new president and vice president, 20 members of the Central American Parliament and 71 members of the National Assembly.
The vote also elects 81 mayors, 701 municipal representatives and 11 city councilors, all with their respective deputies, for the period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029.
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