Panamanians elected this Sunday their next president and vice president for the constitutional period of the July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029. It should be remembered that there will only be one round of voting.
The outgoing president, Laurentino Cortizo, came to power with only two points of advantage. However, the current elections with the eight candidates were led with the intention to vote for José Raúl Mulinowith 37.6% of support, compared to 16.4% for the former president Martin Torrijos. While, Romulo Roux is in third place with 14.9%, and Ricardo Lombana with 12.7%.
According to EditoRed Eurolatam, Panamanians elected 865 new authorities. In addition to the President of the Republic, 20 were chosen deputies to the Central American Parliament (Parlacen), 71 deputies to the National Assembly. Also 81 mayors701 township representatives and 11 councilorsall with their respective substitute, for the constitutional period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029.
Panamanians had a total of 3,037 voting centers, strategically distributed throughout the country, and there were 7,577 voting stations to facilitate the electoral process and guarantee fluid and orderly participation. On the other hand, more than 20 complaints of irregularities were filed, the Electoral Court stated.
Sunday, May 5, 2024
José Raúl Mulino, new president of Panama
The Electoral Court officially recognized José Raúl Mulino as elected president of Panama for the constitutional period from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029.
Recognition of candidates
The candidates Martín Torrijos, Rómulo Roux, Zulay Rodríguez, José Gabriel Carrizo and Maribel Gordón recognized José Raúl Mulino as the new president of Panama.
Official recognition by the Electoral Tribunal is still missing. 2.3 million Panamanians out of three million eligible have voted.
Results show winner
José Raúl Mulino remains in the lead, with 34.2% of the votes. For now, the votes of 2 million Panamanians have been counted, out of a total of three million eligible to vote.
They are followed by Ricardo Lombana, with 25.2% and Martín Torrijos, with 15.9%.
Mulino leads the presidential race
José Raúl Mulino continues forward. An hour and a half after the presidential elections closed, the count totaled 1.6 million voters, with 56.7% of the tables counted. Electoral participation remains high, with 76.5% of a total of more than three million Panamanians who can vote.
For now, José Raúl Mulino leads the votes, with 34.1%, followed by Ricardo Lombana, with 24.8%; Martín Torrijos, with 15.8%; Rómulo Roux, with 11.9%; Zulay Rodríguez, with 6.8%; José Carrizo, with 5.9%; Maribel Gordón, with 1%, and Melitón Arrocha, with 0.2%.
Counting progress
José Raúl Mulino began leading the count of the presidential elections in Panama, with 30.5%, according to the count presented by the Electoral Tribunal. In this first bulletin, there were 12,664 voters counted, with 116 of 7,574 tables reviewed.
This is how the current count would be: Ricardo Lombana, with 30.5%; Ricardo Lombana, with 19.1%; Martín Torrijos, with 18.3%; Rómulo Roux, with 17.8%; José Gabriel Carrizo, with 7.8%; Zulay Rodríguez, with 5.4%; Maribel Gordón, with 1.12%, and Melitón Arrocha, with 0.15%.
Closing speech of the Electoral Tribunal
The electoral body of Panama recognized the civic behavior of the election day, and indicated that the information will be evident from 4:30 pm onwards.
“There will be no losers, we will all win by building a new political stability with peace, order and with great enthusiasm,” said Alfredo Juncá Wendehake, presiding judge of the Electoral Tribunal.
🔴Voting period is closed!
If you are in line, you can still exercise your vote🗳️✅#PanamaElections2024 pic.twitter.com/iXHK9XyRyK
— Electoral Tribunal (@tepanama) May 5, 2024
Voting closed
Panamanian authorities reported a high participation, with more than 70% of the three million Panamanians. There are still people in line, who will be the last to vote at the official closing of the elections.
An entity was installed that will count the minutes
The National Canvassing Board was set up to prepare for the 4:30 pm local time count.
“We have a commitment to the nation, and to ensure and enforce the will of the Panamanian people,” said the president of the board, Nivia Castrellón.
The result would take three hours
The Electoral Tribunal announced that exit polls may be disclosed or published three hours after the official closing time of voting.
“The trend occurs much earlier, the estimate is that at 9:30 pm 95% of the tables will be counted, but this must be rethought given the high level of participation, since the scrutiny may be slower,” said Judge Eduardo Valdés Escoffery.
However, from 4:30 pm local time, the progress of the electoral count will be known.
Pre-marked ballots
According to Leonor Calderón, spokesperson for the 'Other Path Movement' to which candidate Lombana belongs, there are regularities in the voting, which would add to the more than 20 complaints received by the electoral body.
“We have a monitoring center throughout the country and we have made a report of some irregularities that seriously concern us. One of them is the pre-marked ballots. These already have a mark on different numbers and that invalidates the vote,” said Calderón.
All candidates voted
The electoral panorama is going smoothly for the more than three million voters, of whom the eight candidates have already gone to the polls, along with more than 431,000 Panamanians (14.37%).
The elections also include the deliberation of 20 deputies to the Central American Parliament, 71 deputies to the National Assembly, 81 mayors, 701 township representatives and 11 councilors.
Fall of the Electoral Tribunal web portal
The website intended to consult the voting results collapsed.
On the other hand, the electoral body reported cases of ballots without signatures, and reiterated to citizens the exercise of quality control.
While Susana Malcorra, head of the Electoral Mission of the Organization of American States, OAS, asked to wait calmly for the results. “The vote has been carried out in a timely manner, and we have great expectations that this scenario demonstrates the great commitment between Panamanians with democracy,” she said.
Candidates exercise the right to vote
The candidates Ricardo Lombana and José Raúl Mulino exercised their right to vote, followed by Rómulo Roux and the current president Laurentino Cortizo.
The Gallup poll indicates that Mulino has strong support, with 33%. The candidate took advantage of the elections to visit former president Ricardo Martinelli at the Nicaraguan Embassy in Panama, where they said to each other: “Brother!”, “We are going to win!”
The presidential elections began
The candidates are José Raúl Mulino, Martín Torrijos, Ricardo Lombana, Rómulo Roux, José Gabriel Carrizo, Zulay Rodríguez, Melitón Arrocha and university professor Maribel Gordón.
It should be remembered that the electoral system will be under a simple majority election.
The system will have hours from 7:00 am, local time, until 4:00 pm