The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) Friday answered a question posed earlier this month by Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias as to whether public employees can campaign for or against the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) as the country prepares for a popular vote on this controversial trade pact tentatively scheduled for Sept. 23.

“Public officials... will be able to freely express their opinions” about CAFTA and “participate in forums, debates, conferences, talks, interviews and collective activities that facilitate the open process of citizens discussing and divulging their opinions freely,” according to statement from the Sala IV.

Police officers and Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) employees are the exception and are restricted from expressing their opinions during the referendum and the period leading up to it.

The court also declared the “absolute prohibition” of the use of public funds for campaigns for or against CAFTA. The financial heads of public institutions will be responsible for making sure this type of spending does not occur and must report any anomalies to the Comptroller General's Office, TSE interim president Luis Antonio Sobrado told the daily La Nación.

The office of President Oscar Arias, a vocal advocate of CAFTA, expressed satisfaction over the court's decision in a statement released Friday.

The President's brother and spokesman Rodrigo Arias had argued when he requested that the court review the Electoral Code that a provision banning public employees from expressing their opinions was intended for elections in which candidates are seeking posts, not for a referendum, and that because September's vote would be modern Costa Rica's first referendum, this issue has never come up.

The court's decision is “congruent with the national reality” because a government that supports CAFTA must have “the opportunity to defend its thesis,” he said in the statement.

-Tico Times