José Raul Mulino Wins Panama’s Presidential Elections

The Electoral Tribunal of Panama declared José Raul Mulino as the winner of the elections and elected president of the Latin American country.

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According to unofficial data from the Electoral Tribunal of Panama, with more than 87% of the votes counted, Mulino obtained 34.4% of the ballots, compared to 25% of Ricardo Lombana, 16% of former president Martín Torrijos (2004-2009) and 11.2% reached by Rómulo Roux.

Previously all the candidates had already declared their defeat and acknowledged Mulino’s electoral victory.

Mulino, who will assume the presidency on July 1 for a period of five years, is a 64-year-old lawyer and diplomat. He was Minister of Government and Justice and Public Security during the term of Ricardo Martinelli and Chancellor in the 1990s.

#PanamaDecide2024 #Elecciones2024 José Raúl Mulino, presidente electo de Panamá se dirige al país. "Ricardo Martinelli amigo, misión cumplida", dijo. Video: Luis Ávila pic.twitter.com/zgpImqMgy7

— PanamáAmérica (@PanamaAmerica) May 6, 2024

 The text reads, 

José Raúl Mulino, president-elect of Panama goes to the country. "Ricardo Martinelli friend, mission accomplished," he said. Video: Luis Ávila

Mulino will have to deal with the great challenges of migration through the Darién Stopper, where half a million people crossed last year, and the water crisis that restricted for the first time in history the transits of ships in the Panama Canal.

The president-elect promised to usher in a thriving economy like the one seen during the Martinelli administration (2009-2014) and stop migration through the Darién Plug, the dangerous jungles linking Colombia and Panama that were crossed by half a million migrants last year.

However Mulino’s speeches did not escape the shadow of corruption of former President Martinelli, accused of corruption and disqualified from running in the presidential elections.