Zavala will pay the fine imposed by the TCE

Nelson Zavala

Today marks the deadline that the Electoral Contentious Tribunal (TCE) granted the former presidential candidate for  PRE, Nelson Zavala, to pay the fine imposed for committing an electoral infraction in the recent campaign.

The fine was imposed after LGBTI group representatives (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex) and of the National Electoral Council (CNE), requested, by a hearing in the TCE,  that the pastor be sanctioned with the suspension of his political rights and fined with 10 unified basic salaries ($ 3 190), in addition to be judged for the crime of hate, because of homophobic  and discriminatory expressions said by  Zavala  during his election campaign.

Luigi García, the attorney of the former presidential candidate, asserted that the debt will be cancelled because actions that are being taken in parallel for the defense of his client  do not suspend the effects of the judgement, and  that today he will deposit the money in the account of the National Bank of development (BNF), as indicated in the decision.

Garcia, also said that next week he will prosecute criminally the TCE President,  Catalina Castro,  for alleged malfeasance by referring to the Constitutional Court (CC) the order of an extraordinary action of protection, because he believes that she advanced criteria to refer, in the notice that she sent to the CC, that such action should not be raised against the decisions of the TCE in electoral processes.

For his part, Zavala reiterated yesterday that he did not have the required money, but that he hoped to get the amount after the cult of the night, saying that several friends and members of his congregation have expressed their  interest to cooperate voluntarily; the amount raised until yesterday was $2 100.