2024 Elections in Panama

Elections in Panama will take place this Sunday May 5th 2024. There are eight candidates to appear on Sunday’s ballot, and currently the polls are showing mixed rankings among the five frontrunners.

Here are frontrunners in Panama’s 2024 Elections:

JOSE RAUL MULINO

Mulino is the last candidate to join the race, replacing former President, Ricardo Martinelli in March.

64-year-old Mulino is a lawyer and served as deputy foreign minister in the 1990s, and as both interior and security minister during Martinelli’s administration (2009-2014).

Mulino’s platform calls for "bringing more money to Panamanians’ pockets" through an array of infrastructure projects aimed at boosting employment and investment.

ROMULO ROUX

Romulo Roux is a 59-year-old lawyer that is running for office for the second time. 

Up until February, he was a partner at law firm Morgan & Morgan, known for representing Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals.

Roux also headed the authority governing the Panama Canal, running on the platform of boosting tourism and logistics, pledging to create 500,000 jobs in Panama. 

MARTIN TORRIJOS

The son of Omar Torrijos, who persuaded Washington to cede control of the Panama Canal in the 1970s, former President Martin Torrijos held his first presidential term in 2004-2009. 

Now, with aims to broaden the canal’s operations he is running on a platform of spending $19 billion on 40 infrastructure projects, creating 165,000 direct jobs.

RICARDO LOMBANA

This is Lombana’s second presidential run. The 50-year-old lawyer is prioritizing modernizing institutions and fostering sustainable economic growth.

Lombana acted as consulat general at Panama’s embassy in the United States during Torrijos’ administration.

JOSE GABRIEL CARRZIO

Panama’s 40-year-old current vice president Jose Gabriel Carrizo is seeking to keep his party in power for a second term. With a platform that aims to raise the minimum wage and build a "dry canal" linking the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific, Carrizo and Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) look to complete a feat that has not take place since the decades.

No Panamanian party has held power for consecutive terms since the 1980s.

Source: Returns