Polling stations closed, vote counting underway in Panama
In Panama, vote counting is advancing as part of the General Elections, where citizens will choose more than 800 positions, including President and Vice-President. teleSUR
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00:00In Panama, vote counting is advancing as part of the general elections where citizens will
00:13choose more than 800 positions, including president and vice president.
00:18With 40% of the votes counted, the candidate José Raúl Molino leads with over 30% of
00:24the votes, followed by candidate of the Otro Camino movement, Ricardo Lovana, with around
00:3024%.
00:31More than 3 million Panamanians were able to exercise their right to vote in more than
00:363,000 voting centers.
00:38Panamanians went to the polls to elect 81 district majors, 701 township representatives,
00:4511 councillors, 71 legislators to the National Assembly and 20 to the Central American Parliament,
00:52all with their respective substitutes.
00:54According to the electoral law, the positions are defined by simple majority, without a
00:59second round.
01:05The former magistrate of the Electoral Tribunal, Guillermo Márquez Amado, highlighted the
01:10work of the citizens in the general elections of this Sunday, May 5th.
01:14Panamanians have spoken and expressed themselves through the vote.
01:18It is a day to celebrate.
01:20We have been able to act with responsibility and democratic commitment.
01:27We have honored our history created by many Panamanians since 1903 when our Independence
01:32Act was signed.
01:34They gave us a legacy to preserve, an independent, democratic and responsible republic, for the
01:40happiness of all.
01:43Today, with our vote, we have successfully endorsed that legacy.
01:49Thousands of Panamanians have freely decided on the future of our country.
01:53We have done it in peace, with passion and commitment.
01:59Likewise the former magistrate of the electoral entity thanked the polling station members
02:04and other officials for their enthusiastic participation in the elections and informed
02:09that the second phase of the vote counting has already started.
02:16From the House of Democracy, I thank the enthusiastic participation of Panamanians
02:20who patiently and with dedication went to vote.
02:24My deepest gratitude for your commitment to these democratic elections.
02:28I thank the table members for their participation.
02:36I acknowledge the civic behavior of the candidates and political parties to bring this election
02:41day to a successful conclusion.
02:44Panamanians, at this moment we are initiating another phase of our electoral process.
02:54The members of the voting tables are beginning the counting of the votes.
02:58The unofficial transmission program of electoral results, known as TR, will begin to work around
03:044.30 in the afternoon as the information is received.
03:09Finally, former electoral tribunal magistrate Guillermo Marquez Amado urged respect for
03:14the electoral results.
03:19I call on everyone to patiently, prudently and responsibly accept the results of these
03:23elections.
03:26This is the essence of democracy.
03:31In these elections there will be no losers.
03:35We will all win by building a new political stability.
03:40With peace, order and with much democratic enthusiasm, we make the homeland with you.
03:48In this context, presidential candidate Ricardo Lombana urged citizens to supervise the process.
03:54To that effect, he posted the following comment on his ex-account.
03:58By law in Panama, all vote counting is made in public.
04:01Go to your school to supervise the scrutiny and take care of every single vote.
04:06If we take care of the votes, we take care of democracy.
04:10Panama depends on us.
04:16For his part, candidate Romulo Roig thanked Panamanians for exercising their right to
04:21vote and urged citizens to remain attentive throughout this election day.
04:25On his ex-account, he wrote that voting centers closed an hour ago.
04:30He thanked the Panamanians who went to vote and decided the direction of the country should
04:35take.
04:36Then, he added that the battle for the future of Panama does not end there and that they
04:42have to continue taking care of the votes.
04:44The candidate also made reference to the fact that they are counting on the captains and
04:49observers to defend the freedom of Panamanians.
04:52Finally, Romulo Roig affirmed that they are not letting their guard down.
04:57They maintain their hope and we are giving their all because the change is coming.