The electoral criminal jurisdiction has been deformed” to the point of becoming a shield of impunity behind which politicians and criminals involved in high-profile cases hide said the Panama Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (Cciap), on Sunday, February 6.

For the Chamber the use of this escape route has been abused, invoking the Electoral Code that stipulates that this “guarantee” applies both to general elections and to internal or primaries of political parties.

The union thus joins other voices that maintain that this jurisdiction "was not created to evade justice or as a letter of marque to be invoked whenever it suits the candidate in question."

The electoral criminal jurisdiction – emphasizes the organization – was conceived to promote fair and equitable popular elections, and not the opposite.

The group recalled that elements like these and their distorted use "were what led us to oppose the battered electoral reforms."

The Cciap, one of the principal organizations in the private sector, reiterated that the electoral criminal jurisdiction must be eliminated, since “societies are called to evolve with the times; we cannot justify its existence by the ghosts of the past”.

“For a society to evolve and coexist harmoniously, there cannot be superior members, with privileges that subtract them from justice. As simple as that, we must all be equal before the Law” it added.