PANAMA CITY (AP) — José Raúl Mulino, the stand-in for disqualified ex-President Ricardo Martinelli in Panama's presidential election, took the lead in early returns Sunday night, holding 34% of the votes and a nearly 10-point lead over his four compe
PANAMA CITY — José Raúl Mulino, the stand-in for disqualified ex-President Ricardo Martinelli in Panama's presidential election, took the lead in early returns Sunday night, holding 34% of the votes and a nearly 10-point lead over his four competitors.
“Panama’s election will be one of the most complex in its modern history. The vote is marked by increased political fragmentation and social discontent under outgoing President Laurentino Cortizo,” said Arantza Alonso, senior analyst for the Americas at the risk consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft, before the polls opened.
Martinelli, a business tycoon who was president of Panama from 2009 to 2014, dominated much of the race. He campaigned for his former running mate from inside the walls of the Nicaraguan Embassy, where he took refuge in February after receiving political asylum.
Among them was Juan José Tinoco, voting from his working-class area of small, concrete houses surrounded by extravagant skyscrapers. The 63-year-old bus driver said he planned to vote for Mulino because it was the closest thing he could get to Martinelli, adding that he had earned a decent amount of money during the former president’s time in power.
While Mulino’s message resonated with many voters, others like 68-year-old Uber driver Emanuel Romero agreed the country needed change but with someone new at the helm. “If we want to see more of the same — corruption and our country falling apart — let’s vote for the same people. I will vote for someone independent, and I trust he’ll do things in a better way that will save the country,” Romero said.
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