This Thursday morning, Luis Pinedo, leader of the Citizen Consultation Movement, presented a memorial before the Municipal Council of Panama so that an open town hall can be convened in the capital municipality.
Pinedo explained that an open council is a public meeting that must have the participation of the mayor of Panama and the 26 representatives of the townships so that the proposed issues can be addressed, which are of citizen concern and interest.
“It is a historical fact, this is the first request that is made. The mayor and the 26 representatives of the capital district will have to meet with society and the communities to discuss various issues such as the recovery of public spaces, violating decentralization and participation citizen, impose a municipal budget; all this has been violated, what we want now is that the open council be fulfilled and they cannot say no,” he remarked.
He stated that the law indicates that any public official who receives a citizen petition has 30 days to respond. “The open meetings have a theme: every request or question that citizens make must be answered five days after the open meeting, which greatly shortens the time for quicker responses to the communities,” she said.
Regarding the revocation process of the mayor’s mandate, José Luis Fábrega, commented that the head of the capital commune has “almost a favor” with the open council, because what comes with the revocation of the mandate is much heavier . “He should take this open town hall, say yes and talk to the citizens because the revocation of the mandate that we are supporting as citizens will, without a doubt, be a front that he will need all his concentration.”
