Panamanians vote in election dominated by former president banned from running

Panama’s former president, Ricardo Martinelli is not even on the ballot, but this election is all about him. In March, the popular Martinelli was barred from running after he was sentenced to more than a decade in prison for money laundering. He’s been replaced as candidates by his protege. Whom the Supreme Court only declared eligible on Friday. I never believed I wasn’t going to run, and here I am. I stand before Panama’s people. Molino is leading the race, having enjoyed Martinelli’s support from inside the Nicaraguan embassy, where he’s received asylum. As for Merlino’s rivals, polls show there are more undecided voters than voters for any of them. One of the I’m very sad because this is the first time I don’t know who to vote for. I feel that no candidate represents me on voters minds, the cost of living, safe drinking water, crime, corruption and wave of migration from Colombia. Many Panamanians pine for the economic boom under Martinelli’s rule from 2009 to 2014, which saw the enlargement of the Panama Canal. In a sign of the times, that economically vital canal has now been hobbled by a severe drought.