President Laurentino Cortizo returned Bill No. 776 to the National Assembly, which includes a modification to the mandate revocation procedure, which would benefit 15 dissident deputies from Cambio Democrático (CD).
Cortizo partially objected, as unconstitutional, to article No. 12 of the norm, which also modifies the Electoral Code.
After analyzing the bill, the president concluded that the aforementioned article, which adds article 438-A to the Electoral Code, is contrary to the Constitution by establishing that political parties may not expel and/or revoke the mandate of deputies for decisions approved by the majority of deputies of a parliamentary faction.
Cortizo also considered that articles 138, 150 and 151 of the Constitution indicate that the deputies represent their respective parties in the National Assembly, which in turn “express political pluralism.”
The president recalled that the Panamanian Constitution stipulates the grounds for revoking a mandate.
He explained that the Magna Carta establishes that the parties must establish the grounds for revocation of mandate in their statutes, “prior to an election, for which it is prohibited to issue laws contrary to the letter or spirit of the Constitution.”
