The decision removes uncertainty about Mulino’s eligibility two days before voting in the Central American country.
Panama’s Supreme Court ruled that frontrunner Jose Raul Mulino is eligible to run for president in the Central American country.
Friday’s ruling came two days before the vote and ended the uncertainty that had loomed over Mulino’s campaign since he replaced former president Ricardo Martinelli as the candidate of the right-wing Realizando Metas (Realizing Goals) party.
Mulino was Martinelli’s running mate, but rose to the top after Martinelli lost an appeal to overturn a money laundering conviction that resulted in an 11-year prison sentence.
Panama’s electoral court banned Martinelli from running in the election in March. This is because the Constitution cited a provision that prohibits anyone sentenced to more than five years from holding elected office.
The tribunal allowed Mulino, a lawyer who previously worked in Martinelli’s administration, to run in the election despite failing to implement laws requiring presidential candidates to participate in party primaries and choose a running mate. That decision was challenged by the country’s highest court, which ruled on Friday that Mulino’s candidacy did not violate the constitution.
Justice Maria Eugenia Lopez, the Supreme Court’s president, told reporters that the jurists rejected the challenge by an 8-1 margin and were persuaded to do so by Panamanians’ “right to vote and stand for office and political pluralism.” .
“What moves this Constitutional Court in the historical moment we find ourselves in is not only the protection of our country and democracy, but also institutionality, social peace, the right to vote and be elected, and political pluralism, and let us not forget its important role. The political parties have adjourned,” she said while reading her statement on behalf of the court.
Voters say he lacks Martinelli’s charisma, but the 64-year-old Mulino is faithful to his former running mate’s policies. According to a recent opinion poll, he is leading a field of eight candidates with an approval rating of over 30%.
He also received enthusiastic support from Martinelli, who remains at the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama after being granted political asylum from Managua.
The former president posted on his X account that this decision “will serve as a model for the future election process.”
He added, “In the end, truth, law, and justice win.”
Mulino promised to restore economic prosperity during Martinelli’s 2009-2014 presidency and crack down on migration through the Darien Gap jungle, which reached record numbers last year.
But corruption loomed large in opinion polls as a decisive issue, with all eight contenders promising to tackle the issue. Seven of the candidates are considered conservative, with only distance economist Maribel Gordon representing the left.
Opinion polls show former President Martin Torrijos trailing Mulino closely ahead of Sunday’s election, but with just 5% of the vote.
Mulino served as foreign minister and justice minister, but was most infamous for his role as Martinelli’s security minister.
He was widely criticized for violently suppressing indigenous workers protesting conditions on banana plantations in 2010. The crash left two people dead and more than 100 injured.
