Panama celebrates this Sunday the most complex and polarized elections in its history, with the long shadow of former president Ricardo Martinelli, who, although he could not seek re-election due to a conviction for money laundering, has his dolphin leading the polls and with a ratified candidacy for last minute by the Supreme Court.
According to the polls, José Raúl Mulino, of Realizing Goals (RM), occupies first place, among the eight candidates, with 37.6% of the voting intention, while his three immediate opponents remain at a certain distance.
Former president Martín Torrijos (2004-2009), for the Popular Party (PP); Rómulo Roux, for Democratic Change (CD); and Ricardo Lombana, for the Other Path Movement (Moca), follow with support of 16.4%, 14.9% and 12.7%, respectively, a “technical tie” when the margin of error is within the 2%.
Meanwhile, the rest of the competitors lack apparent options, with José Gabriel Carrizo, for the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), the best positioned of them with 8.3%, followed by the independents Zulay Rodríguez (5.1%). , Melitón Arrocha (2.4%), who surprisingly asked for the vote for Torrijos at the end of the campaign, and the leftist Maribel Gordón (1%).
The 3,035 electoral centers will open at 7:00 a.m. local time (12:00 GMT) until 4:00 p.m. (seven hours less in Spain) so that the more than three million Panamanians called to the polls can choose the 885 positions: a new president and vice president, 20 deputies to the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), 71 deputies to the National Assembly (AN), 81 mayors, 701 township representatives and 11 councilors for the constitutional period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029.
#Panama #celebrates #complex #atypical #presidential #elections #history #Basque #Journal
