national

Survey reveals skepticism

According to a recent survey by the firm of Dichter & Neira, 61.3 percent of all Panamanians believe the appointment of two new magistrates to the Corte Suprema will be determined by politics rather than on the merits of the candidates.

Of the total surveyed, only 30.8 percent believe that the two nominees to replace Graciela Dixon and José Troyano will be made on the basis of their merits and professional achievements. Nearly 8 percent of the interviewees did not respond.

In 2005, President Martín Torrijos named a special commission made up civilian organizations to evaluate the candidates for the position of magistrate on the Corte Suprema, in accordance with the terms of the Pacto de Estado por la Justicia.

The commission completed its interviews of 74 aspirants on Dec. 19. Now it is expected to send its list of names, with no recommendations or annotations, to the Órgano Ejecutivo no later than Dec. 25 so that it can make its selection.

That contradicts the specifications of the Pacto de Estado por la Justicia, which called for the commission to not only interview but evaluate the candidates and then recommend 10 names. However, President Torrijos thought the measure was unconstitutional, since it was the purview of the President of the Republic to make his own selection.

Nonetheless, the Alianza Ciudadana Pro Justicia has requested that the evaluation commission not only transcribe the results of its interviews but also assess the qualifications of each candidate in the final report it sends to the president.

The survey of 1,213 people was carried out between Dec. 14 and Dec. 17 of this year. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent.