the conservative José Raul Mulino wins the presidential election by a wide margin

The elected official was appointed by ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, convicted of money laundering, to replace him. Between 2015 and 2016, José Raul Mulino was placed in pre-trial detention for corruption, before being released for procedural errors.

Conservative candidate José Raul Mulino, favorite in the polls, won the presidential election in Panama on Sunday, May 5. The 64-year-old lawyer obtained more than 34% of the vote, nine points ahead of his main opponent, the center-right candidate, former consul Ricardo Lombana, who admitted defeat.

José Raul Mulino said he received these results with “responsibility and humility”. “I am no one’s puppet”, he insisted during a speech to his supporters. Three million Panamanians were called to elect their president, renew the 71 deputies of the unicameral Parliament and the regional governments in this one-round election with a simple majority. Participation was high, at more than 77%.

“One of the most unequal countries in the world”

The shadow of ex-president Ricardo Martinelli hung over this election. Unable to appear, because he had been convicted by the courts for money laundering and had taken refuge in the Nicaraguan embassy, ​​he had designated José Raul Mulino as his successor. Ricardo Martinelli, 72, is also being prosecuted for illegal wiretapping and corruption in the mega-scandal of the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

José Raul Mulino was Minister of Security under the Martinelli mandate, then Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice. Between 2015 and 2016, he was placed in pre-trial detention for corruption, before being released for procedural errors. Moreover, after voting, José Raul Mulino went to the Nicaraguan embassy where he met Ricardo Martinelli. The two men greeted each other with a warm hug and exchanged “My brother”according to a video published by the campaign team of the Realizando Metas party, founded by Ricardo Martinelli.

These elections were held in a context of endemic corruption, a serious drought which reduced maritime traffic in its famous canal, the engine of its economy, and while the migration issue is omnipresent, with the entry into the country in 2023 of Half a million migrants on their way to the United States through the formidable Darién jungle on the Colombian border. And in a country with one of the highest GDP per capita in Latin America, Panama “remains one of the most unequal countries in the world”according to a World Bank report.