By: Staff Writer
May 10, 2024
Panama has a new president, José Raúl Mulino, a rightwing former public security minister, who was declared the “unofficial” winner of Panama’s presidential election on Sunday, the country’s electoral court confirmed.
With over 90% of the total vote counted, Mulino secured about 34% of the ballots. His next closest rival, Ricardo Lombana, took second place with about 25%.
Mr. Mulino, 64, focused his campaign on job growth and promised to increase tourism and build a rail line connecting Panama City, the capital, with the country’s interior that would create construction jobs. He also pledged to increase agricultural production, lower the cost of medicines and provide free internet access to schools.
“It’s an honor for me, for my family, for my friends, to receive this call,” Mr. Mulino said in a victory speech in Panama City on Sunday night. His election, he said, “implies an enormous weight on my shoulders,” adding that he promised to do his best for the country.
In a field of eight candidates, Mr. Mulino led the polls, vowing to return Panama to the economic growth it experienced under Ricardo Martinelli, who was president from 2009 to 2014.
Mr. Martinelli, who is known to his supporters as “El loco,” or the crazy one, had been a top presidential contender until he was disqualified earlier this year because of a money-laundering conviction in 2023. But from inside the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama City, where he was granted asylum, Mr. Martinelli strenuously campaigned for Mr. Mulino, who was his running mate and took his place on the ballot.
Mr Mulino’s candidacy has also faced legal challenges.
Panama’s top court was asked to decide whether the fact that Mr Mulino was not chosen by his party in the customary primary election invalidated his candidacy.
Last Friday, just two days before the election, the court finally ruled that his candidacy was constitutional.
Mr Mulino has said prior to being elected, he will “close down” the Darién Gap, the dangerous stretch of jungle on Panama’s border with Colombia which hundreds of thousands of migrants cross every year on their journey north to the United States.
He has not said how he would close the dangerous route but has made stopping migration an important part of his “law and order” proposals.