LGTBIQ+ collective of Panama launches ‘electoral ethical pact’ to avoid hate campaigns

He The LGTBIQ+ movement in Panama launched this Thursday an “electoral ethical pact” for the rights of this community to avoid hate campaigns against people with different sexual tendencies and promote inclusion ahead of the general elections on May 5.

“The pact is launched for all candidates, the media and State institutions that are there to guarantee a clean electoral process and promote the rights of all Panamanians”Jazmina Rovi, a member of the Association of Parents, Relatives and Friends of Diversity of Panama (PFLAG Panama), told EFE.

The ‘Electoral Ethical Pact for the human rights of the LGBTIQ+ population’, an acronym that refers to the community of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender and Intersexual and Queer people, is scheduled to be signed on March 27.

The pact seeks to “guarantee that gender diverse people do not face violations of their rights before, during and after the general elections on May 5, 2024,” according to a joint statement signed by some 13 LGTBIQ+ rights organizations in that country.

“The LGBT community must also be able to exercise their right to vote and approach election day without fear of being victims of stigmatization, discrimination or vulnerability in any form”Rovi added.

This electoral agreement is a “tool” against “the daily exclusion and discrimination towards people of different sexes, (so that) it does not transfer to citizen rights in the electoral exercise” as well as “a call for attention, so that those who are elected for the next government guarantee compliance with international commitments.”

The group regrets the lack of support from the Ombudsman’s Office and the Electoral Court of Panama, and they have also denounced that During the electoral campaign, instead of launching “concrete proposals to address the country’s serious problems, they have focused their populist strategies of discrimination (…) by continuing to attack LGBTI+ people and promising to leave their families unprotected.”

“It cannot be that there are candidates who must hide their gender identity. There is a very wrong concept, which is that to generate sympathy you have to have a discourse of discrimination, but everyone in Panama has family or friends who are members of the community,” Rovi concluded.

Just over 3 million Panamanians are called to the polls on May 5 to elect the new president and vice president, 20 deputies to the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), 71 deputies to the National Assembly, 81 mayors, 701 township representatives and 11 councilors. , all with their respective substitutes, for the constitutional period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029.

Equal marriage, still prohibited in the country, is one of the most controversial issues in the electoral campaign.

In Panama, the LGTBIQ+ population does not have many guaranteed rights: sexually diverse people cannot marry, there is no law that protects them from homophobic attacks and they are still stigmatized in society.

2024-03-07 19:33:22
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