The deputy proponent of bill 910, which modifies an article of Law 184 of November 25, 2022 on political violence, Kayra Harding Bart, announced that it could be discussed in a second debate next week in the legislative plenary session .
According to Harding Bart, these reforms establish the jurisdiction of the different crimes or misdemeanors that may occur within an electoral process and seek to safeguard or protect the integrity and political rights of women.
For her part, Elia de Tulipano, from the Forum of Political Women. pointed out that this initiative improves the conditions of political participation in the electoral processes so that women who are not only candidates, but also activists of the different political parties, also have a protection mechanism against the violence generated by the traditional practices.
“This is an important step, so we urge the deputies to approve this bill, because the country and Panamanian democracy must be strengthened every day, which, with this bill, a great advance is achieved” , he added.
Meanwhile, Nellys Herrera, director of INAMU, reported that after a technical table where all the sectors involved in this issue participated, a more robust document was achieved, in which it was established that crimes that are considered political may be investigated. by the Electoral Prosecutor’s Office and the Public Ministry or the corresponding instances.
“The aim is to give the authorities competence so that they can investigate this process, since it is necessary to address this violence that has been normalized historically, which prevents and opens a gap in the participation of women in politics, who are, for the most part, , those affected, “he explained.
It should be noted that the project modifies the first paragraph of article 19 of Law 184 of November 25, which establishes the actions, conduct or omissions that constitute some form of political violence against women.