The court disqualified Martinelli, who was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for money laundering, from running for office.
Panama's electoral court has invalidated former president Ricardo Martinelli's candidacy in the presidential election scheduled for May.
The decision, announced late Monday by the group's president, Alfredo Hunka, is seen as ending Martinelli's re-election hopes. This came a month after the former leader defected to the Nicaraguan embassy after losing a bid to avoid prison for corruption.
Martinelli, who served as company president from 2009 to 2014, was found guilty last year of using stolen public funds to buy stock in the publishing company. The 71-year-old supermarket magnate was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and fined $19 million.
Last month, the Supreme Court rejected his appeal against the ruling. Martinelli denounced the ruling as a “last-minute illegal move” to exclude him from the presidential race.
With his conviction confirmed, the electoral tribunal allowed him to withdraw his candidacy. Panama's constitution prohibits anyone sentenced to five years or more in prison for a crime from holding elected office.
Before the annulment, most opinion polls had shown Martinelli as the frontrunner for the May election. His running mate, former Foreign Minister José Raul Mulino, was authorized by the court to continue on the ballot as the sole presidential candidate.
Martinelli was also disqualified from running for legislative office, but denies wrongdoing and claims he is the victim of political persecution.
Martinelli, a billionaire businessman when he took office, has been under investigation for multiple corruption scandals since leaving office.
He was acquitted of charges of espionage and embezzlement of public funds in 2021.
He faces another trial scheduled after the May 5 election on charges that he paid bribes for public projects in Panama from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht while he was president.
Martinelli, a populist who oversaw a period of major infrastructure projects, including the construction of the capital's first subway, is Panama's first former president to be convicted of a crime.
Last year, the US government banned Martinelli and his immediate family from entering the country, accusing him of engaging in “serious” corruption.
