Balbina hit by new accusations

The accusations come from lawyer Guillermo A. Cochez who has presented a lawsuit against the MOP before the Electoral Prosecutor.

This is not the first time the lawyer has accused government officials of corruption.

According to the document presented by the lawyer, companies such as BM3 Panama S.A., Constructora Urbana S.A. (CUSA), Conalvias S.A., Bagatrac S.A. and International Trading Corporation and other companies that have contracts with MOP have been allegedly approached by government officials, who requested that they give monetary contributions to the campaign of Balbina Herrera.

A hard critic of the PRD, Cochez has accused the MOP of committing crimes against the Freedom and Honesty of Suffrage. The lawsuit was presented before the Electoral Tribunal on January 26.

If the electoral prosecutor decides that a crime has occurred and the alleged delinquents are found guilty, they could be sent to prison for a maximum of three years and would not be able to hold a public office for another three years. The guilty parties could also lose their right to vote.

The lawyer requested that the Electoral Prosecutor takes the testimonies of the legal representatives of the companies mentioned in his documents, to find out if they were bullied into given funds to Herrera’s presidential campaign.

It is a well known fact that the current Minister of Public Works, Benjamin Colamarco is a supporter of Herrera, however in his lawsuit Cochez does not mention any individual by name and just mentioned some of the companies involved in the possible scandal.

Since she was selected as the PRD candidate, Herrera’s presidential campaign has been smeared by her own party due to internal disputes that later were resolved, when Juan Carlos Navarro was chosen as her running mate for vice-president.

The possible investigation of the Electoral Tribunal into the ways her campaign collects funds is another scandal that Herrera can ill afford, taking into account that polls show her popularity levelis continuing to fall.

The Electoral Prosecutor has not said d if the matter is going to be investigated, but a decision will be made, when the lawsuits and proofs have been examined.