Ana Matilde Gómez, a former  Attorney General  and the only  sitting   deputy  without party affiliation is leading in the race to garner signatures  to run   as an independent  candidate in the 2019 presidential election.  In an overcrowded  field of challengers  only the three with the most -validated-  sign-ups  will be able to compete. The period for  listing supporters  ends on January  5, four months before election day.

[caption id="attachment_89905" align="alignleft" width="92"] Your Man in Panama[/caption]

There are already  five party  candidates  and seems likely that  with the first past the post system, whoever becomes the successor to President Varela will find  the majority of votes spread across the field with  30 percent enough to grab  the title, possibly even an independent  in an election where corruption   smeared deputies  are facing a growing “no to re-election” movement.

1- Ana Matilde Gómez has 71,167 ratified signatures, of the 122,455, presented and keeps in review 20,882.

2- Dimitri Flores has 67,703 accepted signatures, of the 111,476 presented and keeps in review 1,434.

3- Ricardo Lombana has 29,163 accepted signatures of the 58,454 presented and keeps in revision 18,333.

4-Marco Ameglio has 21,429 accepted signatures, of the 73,310 submitted and keeps under review 31,533

5- Miguel Bernal has 14,899 accepted signatures, of the 24,681 presentedand keeps under review 3,425

Gómez, was railroaded from office as  Attorney General by a cabal led by a Martinelli appointed  Supreme Court judge who later had to resign.