Panama to elect president following sentence of front-runner

The disqualification of the candidate who was leading in the polls has cast a cloud on the general election that Panamanians are voting in.

Prior to his disqualification from the race following his conviction for money laundering, former president Ricardo Martinelli was the clear favorite.

José Raúl Mulino, his opponent on the ballot, is leading the polls.

On July 1st, the winner of the majority of votes in this round will be sworn in as president.

In addition to selecting members of Panama’s national legislature, voters will also select one of the eight candidates running for the presidency.

Laurentino “Nito” Cortizo, the current president, has decided not to run for reelection because presidents are not allowed to serve two terms in a row.

According to opinion polls, Mr. Mulino is ahead. Mr. Martinelli’s running companion was a 64-year-old attorney from the Realizando Metas (Achieving Goals) party.

However, Mr. Mulino entered the presidential election following Mr. Martinelli’s nearly 11-year prison sentence for money laundering.

But Mr. Mulino’s campaign has also run into legal issues.

The question of whether Mr. Mulino’s candidacy was void because his party did not select him in the traditional primary election was brought before Panama’s highest court.

Two days prior to the election, on Friday, the court ultimately decided that his candidacy was legitimate.

Former running mate Ricardo Martinelli, who has been given political refuge and has been residing in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City since February, supports Mr. Mulino.

Martinelli, who held the position of interior and security minister for Mr. Mulino, has been disseminating video messages in favor of him from a little room within the embassy.

If elected, Mr. Mulino has pledged to “close down” the Darién Gap, the hazardous jungle border between Panama and Colombia that thousands of migrants pass each year on their way north to the United States.

Although he has not stated how he would shut down the hazardous route, he has made immigration control a key component of his “law and order” plans.

While Mr. Mulino has been leading several recent opinion surveys, his opponents are still very much in the running because almost 25% of registered voters said they were still unsure.

There are two individuals vying to defeat Mr. Mulino who are also well-known figures in Panamanian politics.

Son of Omar Torrijos, the military ruler who signed a contract with the United States in 1977 to return Panamanian sovereignty to the Panama Canal zone, Martín Torrijos served as president from 2004 to 2009.

“Safe Change” is the campaign slogan for the 60-year-old. One of the primary engines of Panama’s economy, the Panama Canal, is expected to receive investments from him.

After leading the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) for a year, he joined the People’s Party, where he is currently running for office.

After losing to current President Laurentino Cortizo in 2019, Rómulo Roux, 59, a former president of the Panama Canal’s board of directors, is vying for the presidency of the country once more.

The attorney, who is running for office on behalf of the Democratic Change party, claims that he would enhance public services and carry out a “aggressive” job development plan if elected.

Additionally, despite working for the legal company that represented the disputed copper mine, he declared that he would not support its reopening.

After nationwide protests rocked the nation last year, the mine’s closure was declared.

Ricardo Lombana is another contender attempting to win the president twice.

This time around, the 49-year-old attorney is running as an independent and supporting the Other Way Movement.

Speaking to the Spanish news agency Efe, Mr. Lombana rejected Mr. Mulino’s pledge to “close” the Darién Gap, stating that “migration, ever since humankind exists, is not stopped by walls”.

Rather, he suggests enhancing security measures for migrants traveling via Panama to the north.

The polls will close nine hours after they begin at 7:00 local time (12:00 GMT). It is anticipated that preliminary results will be released shortly after polls close. (BBC)

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