Panama frontrunner could be barred days before presidential election

Supreme court poised to rule on eligibility of José Raúl Mulino, who himself replaced candidate excluded in February

Panama’s presidential race has been gripped by uncertainty as the supreme court deliberates whether to disqualify the frontrunner José Raúl Mulino on the verge of Sunday’s vote.

The ruling could yet upend an election in a country that has recently been racked by mass protests amid an economic slowdown, drought in the Panama Canal and the closure of one of the world’s largest copper mines.