Panama: Supreme Court Admits Lawsuit Against Candidate Mulino

March 13, 2024 Hour: 1:10 pm

On Wednesday, Panamanian media reported that the Supreme Court of Justice admitted a lawsuit of unconstitutionality against Jose Mulino, who seeks to compete in the presidential elections scheduled for May 5th.

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On March 5, the Achieving Goals party officially nominated Mulino as its presidential candidate, replacing Ricardo Martinelli.

This former Panamanian President (2009-2014) was sentenced to over 10 years in prison for money laundering and disqualified by the Electoral Tribunal from participating in the elections.

The lawsuit against his replacement was filed by a lawyer arguing that Mulino’s candidacy is not valid because it was not subjected to primaries nor received an official certificate from the electoral authorities.

�� #Panama| Ricardo Martinelli has been disqualified from Panama’s presidential election in May over money laundering charges in the New Business case. Read more about the charges and other corruption inquiries against the former president here: https://t.co/2AMh2VAwPo

— InSight Crime (@InSightCrime)
March 10, 2024

After Martinelli’s disqualification, the Electoral Tribunal decided that the ballot for the Achieving Goals party should list Mulino as “presidential candidate without a vice president.”

This decision came after the first presidential debate in which Mulino could not participate. The Achieving Goals candidate decided not to participate in the second presidential debate to be held in the city of David on Wednesday.

Currently, former President Martinelli, who was the favorite to win the May presidential elections, is in asylum at the Nicaraguan embassy.

Mulino is a lawyer specialized in Maritime Law from Tulane University. He was Panama’s Chancellor in 1990, a substitute judge in the Supreme Court of Justice between 1994 and 1996, and Interior Minister and Security Minister during the Martinelli administration.

#FromTheSouth News Bits | Panama: One of the main Union Forces, Suntracs denounced the terrorist attack against the Union’s Headquarters and the systematic persecution of its leaders. pic.twitter.com/fbm9WJsarG

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)
March 11, 2024