Panama: Polls open in presidential election

Panama has been suffering a cost of living crisis, made worse by a drought that has hit the Panama Canal

Panamanians were called to vote for a new president on Sunday, with the frontrunner already indirectly mired in a corruption scandal.

Eight candidates are looking to replace the center-left President Laurentino Cortizo, who by law is limited to one consecutive term.

Jose Raul Mulino, a conservative lawyer, is leading in opinion polls with around 37% support. However, he only officially joined the race on Friday after his former running mate was forced to drop out over a money laundering conviction.

Mulino’s legal problems

Only three of Mulino’s seven rivals have come close to 15% support, but the share of voters who say they are still undecided is even greater.

Mulino took over the candidacy of the Realizing Goals (RM) party from ex-President Ricardo Martinelli after the latter lost an appeal against his conviction.

Mulino then faced his own problems after his candidacy was challenged on the basis of not having won a primary vote and not having picked a running mate, which is a requirement by law.

But the Supreme Court threw out the complaint on Friday, leaving Mulino free to run. Most Panamanians assume that Martinelli will still run the show from behind the scenes.

Voters will only vote in a single round and whoever gains a simple majority will become the new president.

What do Panamanian voters care about?

Polls show that voters’ main concerns are the high cost of living, access to drinking water and crime. Around one-third of the rural population lives in poverty and some 45% of jobs are in the informal sector with unemployment reaching 10%.

The small country, with a population of around 4.4 million people, is highly dependent on the Panama Canal which allows about 6% of global maritime trade to bypass the South American continent.

However, a crippling drought has limited the amount of traffic that can pass through, causing a knock-on effect on the local economy.

Last year, the country also saw more than half a million people cross the Darien Gap — a thick jungle region — as they tried to reach the US from South America.

Mulino has pledged to end migration through the Darien Gap and to return the economy to its heyday under Martinelli’s previous presidency.

ab/nm (AFP, AP)