Yearbook 2019
Panama. Opposition candidate Laurentino "Nito" Cortizo of
the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) won over Romulo
Roux from Democratic Change (CD), another opposition party,
in the May 5 presidential election. According to
CountryAAH, the victory margin, only
3 percentage points, was the narrowest in Panama's history,
and Cortizo received a lower number of votes than any
previous president. At the same time, Cortizo gained a
stronger position in Congress than outgoing President Juan
Carlos Varela, whose party lost four seats while the PRD
increased its number of seats by two. In the light of a
positive economic development, he seemed to be able to get
through a lot of his politics. In addition, turnout was
relatively high - 73% - which was lower than in the 2014
elections but higher than in the 2009 elections. The PRD
also gained control of the capital, Panama City.
Above all, the overall election results showed the great
dissatisfaction in the electorate with the outgoing Varela's
policy. In particular, there was great disappointment over
Varela's failure to curb corruption, an area that has been
at the center of public opinion since the unveiling of the
so-called Panama Papers in April 2016 and the Odebrech
scandal in December of that year. Predictably, therefore, a
key message in Cortizo's election campaign was to put it
right.
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