Panamanians head to polls to elect new president
Over 3 million voters will decide who is best placed to fix Panama's pressing economic problems, tackle corruption and restore the country's reputation as an investment haven.
Some three million of Panama's 4.4 million citizens are eligible to participate in the single-round vote, with a simple majority required for victory. / Photo: AP
Panamanians head to polls to vote in presidential elections from a crowded field of eight candidates, with the protege of a graft-convicted ex-head of state in the lead.
Polls will open for eight hours from 07:00 am local time (1200 GMT) on Sunday.
Conservative lawyer Jose Raul Mulino, 64, is far ahead in opinion polls with about 37 percent of voter support, according to the latest survey.
But he was made to wait for a last-minute court decision on Friday that finally validated his run.
Of the seven other candidates, only three have approached 15 percent support in the Central American country battling corruption, a severe drought that has hobbled its economically critical Panama Canal, and a stream of US-bound migrants passing through its jungles.
Trailing Mulino is social democrat ex-president Martin Torrijos and two centre-right politicians: Martinelli-era foreign minister Romulo Roux and Ricardo Lombana, a former envoy to the United States.
Polls show there are more undecided voters than support for any of Mulino's seven rivals.
Economic concerns
President Laurentino Cortizo of the majority PRD center-left party will vacate his seat after a term marred by allegations of widespread official corruption, declining foreign investment and rising public debt.
Panama has a presidential one-term limit.
About 45 percent of jobs in Panama today are in the informal market, with unemployment nearing 10 percent.
A third of the rural population lives in poverty.
At the same time, the Panama Canal that sustains the economy and moves about six percent of the world's maritime trade, has had to limit traffic amid a crippling drought.
Another headache awaiting the newcomer is the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama through which more than half a million undocumented migrants passed last year — subjected to abuses criticised by rights groups.
Mulino has vowed to close the gap.
Some three million of Panama's 4.4 million citizens are eligible to participate in the single-round vote, with a simple majority required for victory.
They will also elect a new National Assembly.
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