Panama election: Panamanians vote to elect new president

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panamanians began voting Sunday during an election This situation has been consumed by the drama surrounding the country’s former president, even though he is not on the ballot.

As the sweltering sun beat down on the usually sleepy Central American country, voters lined up outside polling stations. Eager for change after months of political unrest and protests, Panamanians are weighing promises of economic prosperity and immigration repression against a corruption scandal.

“Panama’s elections will be one of the most complex in its modern history. The vote is marked by increased political fragmentation and social discontent under the outgoing regime. President Laurentino Cortizo” said Arantza Alonso, senior analyst for the Americas at risk consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft, before polls opened.

The presidential race remained in uncertain waters until Friday morning, when Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that the leading presidential contender José Raul Mulino was allowed to run. He said he was eligible despite allegations that his candidacy was not legitimate because he was not elected in a primary.

Mulino joined the race late, replacing former president Ricardo Martinelli as a candidate for the Achieving Goals Party. The fiery Martinelli was barred from running in March after being sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering.

Martinelli, a business magnate who served as president of Panama from 2009 to 2014, dominated much of the race. He campaigned for his former running mate from inside the Nicaraguan embassy, ​​where he took refuge in February after obtaining political asylum. On Sunday morning, Mulino strolled through the Nicaraguan embassy, ​​followed by photographers, and hugged Martinelli, calling him “brother.”

Although he lacks Martinelli’s courage, Mulino has left aside his ties to the ex-president. He is rarely seen without his blue “Martinelli Mulino 2024” cap and has promised to help Martinelli if he is elected, a commitment welcomed by the ex-president’s supporters.

Juan José Tinoco, a 63-year-old bus driver, was among those queuing outside a polling station in a seaside area of ​​Panama City. Tinoco, who lives in a working-class neighborhood of small concrete houses surrounded by extravagant skyscrapers, said he planned to vote for Mulino because it was the closest thing to Martinelli, adding that he had earned a decent amount of money during this time. the time when the former president was in power.

“We have problems with health services, education, we have trash in the streets… and corruption that never goes away,” Tinoco said. “We have money here. This is a country full of wealth, but we need a leader who is dedicated to the needs of Panama.

Mulino promised to usher in a thriving economy like under Martinelli and to stop migration through the Darien Gapthe perilous jungle region that straddles Colombia and Panama and was crossed by half a million migrants last year.

Many voters had in mind the massive anti-mining protests that rocked the country for weeks last year and the prolonged drought that effectively crippled commercial transit through the Panama Canal.

While Mulino’s message resonated with many voters tired of Panama’s political establishment, many, like 68-year-old Uber driver Emanuel Romero, agreed that the country needed change, but with someone ‘one again at the helm.

Romero’s car was painted with banners of Ricardo Lombana, a candidate who denounced corruption and sought to win the vote of young Panamanians eager for change.

“If we want to see more of the same thing – corruption and the collapse of our country – let’s vote for the same people. I will vote for someone independent and I trust that he will do things in a better way that will save the country,” Romero said.

Mulino leads the polls with around 35% of the vote, while his competitors lag behind. Former President Martín Torrijos came in second with 15%, while former presidential candidates Rómulo Roux and Lombana obtained 14% and 12%, respectively, according to a March poll by the Panamanian Institute of Civic Studies .