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Candidates for the Presidency of Panama In this Sunday’s general elections they agreed to call on citizens to vote and to take care of them during the counting process, which in this country is handled by a civil entity.
Eight candidates are running for president of Panama in these general electionsin which national and regional deputies will also be elected, as well as municipal governments.
LOOK HERE: Panama Elections 2024 LIVE | Breaking news and news from the most complex elections in the country’s history
They have a chance of winning, according to the few polls available, José Raúl Mulinothe disqualified former president’s dolphin Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) and candidate for the Realizing Goals (RM) and Alianza party alliance; Ricardo Lombanathe Outro Caminho Movement (Moca); Romulo Rouxof the alliance of the Democratic Change (CD) and Panameñista Party (PPa) parties, and of the former president Martin Torijosof the Popular Party (PP).
“Today we are all Panamanians, we go out and vote in a civic and peaceful way (…) the appeal is not just for the entire population, the appeal is for the youth, to go out and vote en masse“, declared Lombana, the anti-system candidate and first presidential candidate to vote this Sunday.
Lombana, 50 years old, who voted at the capital’s convention center Atlapathe largest voting center in the country with more than 25 thousand qualified voters, also requested “keeping an eye on Christ”during the counting of votes, which is the responsibility of the National Control Council (JNE), a corporation formed by members of civil society that is temporarily installed for the presidential elections.
José Raúl Mulino, designated presidential candidate after Martinelli’s disqualification, also voted for Atlapa, sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering and asylum since February in Nicaraguan Embassy to avoid his arrest.
Mulino called “vote in peace and take care of your votes“, and expressed that”Yes“He trusts the TE as a guarantor of the cleanliness of the electoral process, in which he is running without a ticket for vice president, one of the factors that led to his candidacy being challenged before the Federal Supreme Court, which finally endorsed his participation in the dispute.
When asked about the situation of Martinelli, accused in Panama for bribes Odebrecht and charged in Spain For a similar case with the construction company FCC, Mulino simply responded: “Today is the day to vote my friend, let’s vote and we will win”.
Rómulo Roux asked citizens to make sure that the ballot paper contains the two signatures of the polling station representatives necessary to prevent the vote from being declared invalid.
He recalled that in the 2019 elections, in which he came in second place by a difference of just over 2 points, there was “record”of invalid votes, stated that in the current process“these very small margins (of votes between the winner and second place) will happen again“, whereby “every vote counts“, and highlighted that he trusts the Electoral court.
“Despite all the difficulties this process had (…) Panamanians know that today is their day, today is their decision, today is the moment in which God first we all go out to vote with a lot of faith, with a lot of hope and we start a new life“, former president Torrijos told reporters.
MORE INFORMATION: Archbishop of Panama says not voting in the elections would be a “serious sin of omission”
In turn, the candidate for government Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) and current vice-president, José Gabriel Carrizoguaranteed that the “machinery” of your training is “100% activated” to guarantee a new victory.
So Carrizo, located at the bottom of few polls done, asked the party to leave “look for our people and take them to vote and from four in the afternoon (when the tables will close) take care of the voting”.
The president of the Electoral Court (TE), Alfredo Juncastated that the first hours of voting took place with everything functioning normally and recalled that 25 national and foreign organizations were observing the elections.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
