The president of the Legislative Assembly, Rodrigo Arias, made a decision this Wednesday on the process to sanction the head of the New Republic Party (PNR), Fabricio Alvarado, for alleged sexual abuse.
At the end of a controversial session, where the election of substitute magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber was attempted without success, Arias ordered that all legislators be given an envelope with the three commission reports. who investigated the complaint against Alvarado.
The Congress leader indicated that the reports arrived on Monday and commented that The file will enter the plenary agenda this Thursday.
Because of this, Arias explained to the deputies that he will study the Regulation against sexual harassment in the Legislative Assembly for deputies, to define what the next step should be taken, to prevent the complaint filed against Alvarado from going unpunished.
Specifically, the legislative president said that he will study what is established in article 25 of that regulation, which specifies how the plenary session should proceed with reports of this type.
Said article establishes that, once the report or reports of a sexual harassment process have been received, “the presidency of the Legislative Assembly must determine, in the following session, the date when it will be known by the plenary session.”
This was pointed out by several deputies this Wednesday, in the plenary session, among them the independent Kattia Cambronero, Luz Mary Alpízar, from Progreso Social Democrático (PPSD); Rocío Alfaro and Ariel Robles, head and deputy head of the Frente Amplio (FA).
The current deputies only have five sessions left before their term ends: one of them this Thursday afternoon, as well as the sessions on Monday and Tuesday, in the morning and afternoon.
The Regulation against sexual harassment in the Assembly establishes that the report or reports must be voted on in the same session in which its discussion begins, that is, that the matter can only be seen in a single day.
The session in which the eventual sanction against Fabricio Alvarado is discussed could be secret, exceptionally, but only if so determined by a vote of 38 deputies, that is, a qualified majority.
Last Friday, the special commission that investigated the complaint against the evangelical deputy issued three reports, two of which They recommended issuing an ethical sanction against the legislator, for the alleged sexual harassment to the detriment of the former deputy and legislative advisor Marulin Azofeifa.
The reports that recommend issuing the ethical sanction against Fabricio Alvarado for sexual harassment behavior are that of Alejandro Pacheco, deputy of the Christian Social Unity (PUSC) who chaired the body and that of the independent Johana Obando.
In the case of the report by Olga Morera, a deputy loyal to Alvarado, she rejects any sanction against her boss, and rather recommends that, because there is a criminal complaint filed by Azofeifa, no sanction can be given in the Legislative Assembly.
