Very important because Panama is lynchpin of AmeriKan policy:
"Panama voters rebuff president’s pick, select VP as new leader" by Juan Zamorano and Joshua Goodman | Associated Press May 05, 2014
PANAMA CITY — Panamanians cast ballots for President Ricardo Martinelli’s successor Sunday in a three-way battle marked more by sharp personality clashes than any deep disagreements over the way forward for Latin America’s standout economy.
My print copy:
Vice President Juan Carlos Varela was declared the victor of Panama's presidential election Sunday, thwarting an attempt by former ally President Ricardo Martinelli to extend his grip on power by electing a hand-picked successor.
With 60 percent of ballots counted, officials said Varela led with 39 percent of the votes, compared to 32 percent for former Housing Minister Jose Domingo Arias, the preferred choice of Martinelli. Juan Carlos Navarro, a former mayor of the capital, was in third in the seven-candidate field with 27 percent.
Varela, who takes office July 1, dedicated his victory to Panama's democracy when the Electoral Tribunal's chief magistrate notified him by telephone of his victory.
Strange how the web version minimized the victory, 'eh?
Most preelection polls gave a razor-thin lead to Martinelli’s hand-picked candidate, Jose Domingo Arias, a former housing minister. Juan Carlos Navarro, a former mayor of Panama City, and Juan Carlos Varela, an ex-vice president, were close behind in the field of seven.
Election day began with opinion polls pointing to a tight race among the top three candidates, but none of the major surveys had Varela with a lead.
The Electoral Tribunal said turnout was high and there were no reports of major irregularities.
I have one. This article is a rewritten refit. WTF?
I know this because the verbatim part is about to begin and this was left out:
"The incumbent party has still never won re-election to Panama's presidency since the United States' 1989 overthrow of military strongman Manuel Noriega."
The omission is almost an acknowledgement that it was another criminal US aggression. I guess the overthrow stuff wouldn't look good given what the US is doing around the planet right now.
As for Noriega, he's back home.
Martinelli, a billionaire supermarket magnate, was barred by Panama’s constitution from seeking consecutive reelection, but many opponents feared he would be the power behind the office if voters chose Arias, a soft-spoken newcomer.
As the race narrowed in recent weeks, Martinelli crisscrossed the isthmus inaugurating hospitals, stadiums, and Central America’s first subway while warning the 3.2 million Panamanians that record-low unemployment and economic growth averaging more than 8 percent since he took office in 2009 could be jeopardized if his enemies won.
His use of the bully pulpit drew widespread condemnation, as did his decision to place his wife, Marta Linares, as Arias’ running mate on the Democratic Center ticket. Never since the United States’ 1989 overthrow of Panamanian military strongman Manuel Noriega has an incumbent party won reelection.
Oh, I'm sorry. That's out of order.
Now the fun begins:
Varela, a 50-year-old engineer, is the scion of one of Panama’s richest families and owner of a namesake rum distillery.
So the choices were basically between two billionaires (to put it in AmeriKan political context).
He left the 2009 presidential race to throw his conservative Panamenista party’s support behind Martinelli in exchange for the vice presidency. But the political marriage didn't last, and Martinelli dismissed him as foreign minister in 2011 for refusing to back his plan for a referendum seeking consecutive reelection (terms).
Since then, Varela has been the president's fiercest critic, accusing him of taking kickbacks for a government radar system contract. Martinelli denied the charges.
In turn, Martinelli all but marginalized Varela from decision-making and called the vice president for collecting his government paycheck without doing any work.
A free-market conservative, Varela also has strong social credentials, having been the architect of a popular program at the start of Martinelli's presidency to provide a $100 monthly stipend to Panamanians over age 70 without a pension or retirement benefits.
That printed copy has been replaced with this:
The likelihood of a tight finish worried many people.
Erasmo Pinilla, president of the Electoral Tribunal, last month warned that the election results could be contested, something that has never occurred since democracy was restored following Noriega’s ouster.
It's looking like the WRONG GUY WON!
Pinilla also complained about Martinelli questioning the tribunal’s independence. ‘‘Weakening the referee in the crucial moment of the electoral process marked by highly aggressive language serves no other purpose than to commit fraud,’’ Pinilla said.
The president said Sunday that he is prepared to hand power over to whoever is declared the winner, even if by a single vote, and called on all candidates to show ‘‘integrity to recognize whoever triumphs.’’ I thought
All three campaigns had lobbed vicious attacks at each other.
Navarro faced unsubstantiated accusations of ties to drug-trafficking and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who recently severed ties with Panama. Varela defended himself from leaks to the media that he received payments, including one to buy a yacht, from the daughter of a political ally convicted in the United States of money laundering.
Somebody didn't want him to win.
In turn, both opponents’ campaigns attacked Arias as a puppet of Martinelli, suggesting he would resign once in office or rewrite the constitution to let Martinelli seek reelection before a two-term cooling off period ends.
Martinelli said he was not interested in retaining power, and Arias said that if elected, he would govern on behalf of all Panamanians, not one party.
The dirty tricks continued Sunday, with fake front pages of the newspaper La Prensa circulating with false reports alleging the last-minute withdrawal of Arias and Navarro from the race.
Ah, you get used it!
Martinelli has violated electoral laws that bar a sitting president from actively campaigning, said Maribel Jaen, director of the Peace and Justice Commission. ‘‘Never have we had a president who so overtly favored a candidate,’’ Jaen said.
Although many Panamanians criticize what they view as Martinelli’s authoritarian bent, 60 percent of them approve of his performance and acknowledge his legacy of infrastructure improvements, including work on a $5.2 billion expansion of the Panama Canal.
Related: Quick Trip Through the Panama Canal
A Spanish $hakedown.
Navarro, 52, was Panama City’s mayor for 10 years until 2009 and is a businessman who also started the nation’s leading environmental nonprofit group. Under his leadership, the Democratic Revolutionary Party has moved to the center-left and distanced itself from past links to the former military regime.
Tied to drug traffickers and Venezuela. No wonder he came in third.
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