National Assembly of Panama Elects Human Rights Defender

The National Assembly of Panama concluded yesterday's session and will today hold a vote for the position of Human Rights Defender. The inclusion of this item on the agenda sparked protests from two opposition caucuses.

After a long recess and meetings with the heads of caucuses, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Herrera, closed the session this Tuesday, leaving the election and appointment of the Human Rights Defender for today, Wednesday. This point caused an explosion yesterday when it was included in the Order of the Day, which upset the VAMOS and PRD caucuses, while the rest approved it. The point is that it aimed to include all names aspiring to be Defender, not just the seven selected on Monday with five votes (4 from VAMOS and one from PRD). However, reports from both the majority and the minority were expected.

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