The Miss Universe pageant, currently in its preparations stages in Mexico, has disqualified two participants in the last two months.
On 16 November 2024, the reigning queen, Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua, will crown her successor with Miss SA Mia Le Roux, hoping to bring back the crown for the fourth time in the country's history.
The pageant, however, saw the disqualification of both Miss Armenia, Irina Zakharova, in October and now Miss Panama, Itari Mora, who was forced to withdraw from the competition on 1 November.
The Miss Universe Organisation issued statements on both women, stating that Zakharova did not meet the requirements stipulated in Section 8.02 of the Pageant License Agreement because she did not have a valid passport for the country she represented.
The organisation said an internal investigation confirmed that the current title holder was not born in Armenia and has not resided in the country for most of her life, nor does she hold dual citizenship.
She is, therefore, not eligible to participate in the finals.
This would have been Armenia's return to the Miss Universe pageant after a six-year hiatus.
This spotlighted Miss Nigeria Chidimma Adetshina, who represents Miss Nigeria but was born in South Africa.
The 23-year-old Adetshina was stripped of her South African citizenship and had never lived in Nigeria until she arrived to participate in the Miss Nigeria competition.
The latest beauty to leave the pageant is Miss Panama, Itali Mora.
The Miss Universe Organisation said in a statement issued on the weekend that Mora faced their disciplinary committee, which concluded that her withdrawal was the most appropriate course of action under the circumstances.
The Pageant respected Mora's privacy and did not divulge what happened in Mexico.
