Mulino, dolphin of former President Martinelli, wins the presidential elections in Panama

The outgoing president congratulates him on his victory in the elections: "You have my commitment to carry out an orderly transition"

José Raúl Mulino, candidate of Realizing Goals and Alliance, has won the presidential elections in Panama held this Sunday and has become the elected president of the country, as proclaimed by the Panamanian Electoral Court, by winning 34.4 percent. percent of the votes, with almost ten percentage points above the second candidate.

Mulino, 64, has been the man chosen by former president Ricardo Martinelli, disqualified by a sentence of more than ten years in prison for money laundering and in the Nicaraguan Embassy waiting for safe passage to leave the country, to These elections – which have registered a 77.4 percent participation rate – were held to elect Laurentino Cortizo's successor.

In second place has been the social democrat Ricardo Lombana, candidate for the diverse Other Path Movement (MOCA), with 25 percent of the support, one of the few candidates who has managed to obtain a better result than what the polls predicted, which They placed him between 12 and 15 percent in voting intention.

Behind Mulino and Lombana is former president Martín Torrijos, of the Popular Party (PP), who has taken 16 percent, and Martinelli's former Foreign Minister Rómulo Roux, of Democratic Change (CD), with 11 percent. .24 percent. For his part, the outgoing vice president, Gabriel Carrizo, who has dragged down Cortizo's dismal popularity ratings, has not reached six percent of the ballots and is in sixth place, being behind Zulay Leyset, a free candidate.

With the first provisional results, Martinelli quickly highlighted that "it is now certain" that Mulino has been the "clear winner" of the country's Presidency. "This is the face of a happy and content man," he added when publishing a photograph of himself through the social network X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mulino, in his first statements, has indicated that he assumes this election with great responsibility and humility, adding that he hopes to develop the Government plan, which must be "capable, suitable and efficient", with "the help of God." He has also proposed to some of the candidates to carry out a Government of national unity.

"Roux acknowledged his defeat and I told him that, as president of a party in democracy, I will summon him and the other presidents and representatives of unions and organizations in the first days of my government to lay the foundations for national unity, which It does not mean distributing positions. This is a government that I will form with the best people in this country, wherever they come from," Murillo declared during his first speech as president.

Furthermore, he has assured that "the political persecution and the "manipulation" of judges are "over", in reference to both the Martinelli case and a lawsuit before the Constitutional Court that almost forced him to withdraw from the presidential race, as published by the Panamanian newspaper 'Prensa'.

Cortizo, as outgoing president, has called the winner of the elections to congratulate him on his victory "and wish him success and good health in this new period." "I reaffirmed to him that he has my commitment to carry out an orderly transition," he indicated.

For his part, Lombana has proclaimed himself as the main opposition force in the country: "Our movement has made history. We are the second political force in the country," he declared before warning that they will reach out if the leader "does things." good", but that, if "it moves away from the popular will", they will find the people in the streets.

The clear loser of the night has been Carrizo, who has limited himself to emphasizing that "the president has the responsibility of uniting all Panamanians for the good of the country." "We Panamanians must congratulate ourselves for the democratic journey we have experienced today," he said.

During these months, Mulino has not bothered to camouflage that it is really his mentor's candidacy by using the slogan 'Mulino is Martinelli, Martinelli is Mulino'. Thus, he has endorsed both the former leader's conservative speech and his proposals to liberalize the economy, favor the private sector and even announce that he will be in charge of "closing" the Darién Gap to tackle the migration crisis.