Panamanian Vice President José Carrizo secures PRD’s presidential candidacy for 2024 elections

José Carrizo, the Vice President of Panama, has secured the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)’s nomination to contest as their presidential candidate in the upcoming general elections scheduled for May 2024.

This was confirmed by the Electoral Tribunal (TE), which deemed the preliminary results of the party’s internal election process as irreversible.

Osman López, the director of the electoral organization of the TE, communicated to Carrizo via a video call that with 73.9 percent of the votes counted in the primary elections for the presidential candidate, Carrizo’s lead was insurmountable.

According to the data published on the electoral organization’s website, Carrizo led the vote count with 55.03 percent of the votes in a race against seven other contenders.

The other main competitors were Crispiano Adames, who secured 28.15 percent of the votes, and Pedro Miguel González, who received approximately 8.70 percent of the votes.

The other candidates, including Calixto Silgado, Juan Felipe Pitty, Leonel Rodríguez, Franklin Arosemena, and Eduardo Ríos, garnered less than 3 percent of the votes each.

Upon receiving the news, Carrizo thanked the magistrates during the call and expressed his commitment to defending a government characterized by its social sensitivity.

He praised the efforts of the current Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo, asserting that Cortizo has done significantly well for the country and its political party.

Meanwhile, former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) announced his decision to run in the May 2024 elections.

On June 4, he won the primary elections of his newly-formed party, Realizando Metas (RM).

His victory comes amidst pending court verdicts related to allegations of money laundering in a media company acquisition and involvement in the bribery scandal linked to the Brazilian construction company, Odebrecht.

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