Opposition win expected in Panama poll

A CONSERVATIVE supermarket magnate was favoured to win presidential elections yesterday that will determine who oversees expansion of the Panama Canal, the nation’s economic engine.

Ricardo Martinelli, 57, of the opposition Alliance for Change, had a double-digit lead in the polls over former housing minister Balbina Herrera of Panama’s governing coalition, which is led by the Democratic Revolutionary Party.

The winner, whose term ends in 2014, will have to guide Panama through the world economic crisis and the $5.25 billion (€3.9bn) expansion of the Panama Canal to increase its capacity and accommodate larger ships.

Both Martinelli and Herrera, 54, supported the project, but recent world economic woes have generated uncertainty over the project, which is receiving $2.3bn in international financing.

The canal project, which was approved in a 2006 referendum, is expected to generate about 5,000 direct jobs in the small Central American nation.

In an April poll, about 50% of likely voters surveyed said they planned to vote for Martinelli

More than 2.2 million people are eligible to vote.