The president of the Senate of the Republic, Gerardo Fernández Noroña, spoke this Tuesday about the presence of defenders of drug traffickers on the candidate lists for judges in the judicial elections on June 1. He acknowledged that some of these candidates should be excluded, as they do not meet the constitutional requirement of integrity. However, he did not provide numbers or specific names.
Fernández Noroña urged the National Electoral Institute (INE) to cancel the registrations of those candidates who do not meet the necessary ethical requirements to hold judicial positions. He considered it regrettable that defenders of drug traffickers or judges who have released criminals access positions in the judiciary and suggested that decisions regarding this be made before the election.
Although he admitted that the review of the candidate lists was the responsibility of the Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Powers, he pointed out that the presence of defenders of drug traffickers was mainly detected in the Judicial Power, although there are also some cases in the Legislative Power.
The judicial election on June 1 will have the participation of a record 99.7 million voters, and 3,422 citizens will compete for 881 positions in courts, tribunals, and other judicial bodies. The electoral campaigns, which started on March 28, will last 60 days.
This electoral process has raised alarms about a possible interference from the Executive and organized crime in the justice system, both from the opposition, international organizations, current judges, and civil associations.
