Panama elects former security minister José Raúl Mulino as next president

Mulino, who won 34.3% of vote, pledges to welcome business and investment without forgetting ‘those who are hungry’

José Raúl Mulino, a former security minister, has emerged from a chaotic campaign to become Panama’s next president — and will now have to address a cocktail of social discontent with just a fraction of the seats in parliament.

Amid record turnout, Mulino won 34.3% of the vote, followed by the lawyer Ricardo Lombana on 24.8% and former president Martín Torrijos on 16%.