Social Democrat Laurentino Cortizo is favoured to win the presidential vote, though independent candidate Ricardo Lombana has garnered support
Panamanian presidential candidate Laurentino Cortizo holds his grandchildren at a polling station in Panama City, May 5 2019. Picture: LUIS ACOSTA / AFPPanamanians went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president after a campaign dominated by concerns about corruption.Social Democrat Laurentino Cortizo was favoured to win, with pre-election polls giving him a 10-point lead over his closest challenger, former foreign minister Romulo Roux of the Democratic Change party.
Cortizo, a 66-year-old former agriculture minister known popularly as “Nito”, said he wants to “rescue and transform Panama” and “leave a legacy” untainted by corruption.“I’m leaning towards Nito Cortizo because of his ability, experience and knowledge, and I think he has all the tools and structure to carry out a large part of what he has proposed,” Miguel Carrio, an insurance salesman, said.
While he may be behind, 45-year-old Lombana could yet win Sunday’s election, political scientist Harry Brown said, given that “the context of corruption scandals favours independents”. “If our country continues with these corrupt institutions, it will explode,” said Blades, predicting that would lead to “violent reactions”. He is no political novice himself, having run unsuccessfully for president in 1994 and held the position of tourism minister from 2004-2009.
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