Page 115 - Anatomy-of-a-Fraud

“The candidates: Nicolás Ardito Barletta and Arnulfo Arias. The former,
supported by the government, i.e., the National Guard; the one who, logically, should
win by a wide margin. The latter, Arias, the opposition candidate, who must lose even
if he wins for that is the way things have been arranged.
… indeed, on election day, (Arias) won. But since the National Guard did
not agree with his victory, ten days later he lost by 1,700 votes”.
El Tiempo, Bogotá, May 21, 1984, page 3A.

“The Chief Justice of the Electoral Tribunal of Panama himself,
constitutional law professor César Quintero, stated to our special correspondent,
Joaquín Ibarz, that, indeed, there was fraud in the presidential elections held this past
May 6”.
La Vanguardia, Barcelona, May 21, 1984, page 5.
The full text of Ibarz’s article is reproduced in exhibit 15.

“One week in Panama, talking to people from all political parties and all
walks of life is enough to sense the unanimous belief of public opinion –that which is
not manipulated– that the National Guard stole the election. Fewer than two thousand
votes are too thin a veil to cover up the fraud. The halting of vote counting and of TV
coverage; stolen tally sheets, contradictory data and the knowledge that pressure from
the military was evident; all of these are powerful arguments that make one doubt the
integrity of the process”.
Jorge Yarce, “Opiniones”, Cali, Colombia, July 17, 1984.

“The Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COAH) reported Friday that Ardito
Barletta won by a 1,700 votes margin after the military eliminated 13,000 votes for
Arias and ‘manufactured’ 4,000 for their candidate”.
El Miami Herald, Miami, July 23, 1984.

“According to diplomatic sources and foreign observers in Panama,
Arnulfo Arias won the elections despite all frauds”.
BBC of London, newscast of May 12, 1984, quoted in “En
Pocas Palabras”, La Prensa, May 14, 1984. This column also reported that “Buenos
Aires television announced that Barletta had won by fraud.
Like that, literally: by fraud”.