Late dictator's son wins Panama presidential race

Martin Torrijos, the son of a former dictator, won Panama’s first presidential elections since the handover of the Panama Canal and withdrawal of US troops in December 1999, electoral authorities said.

Ex-president Guillermo Endara, his main rival, conceded defeat to Torrijos, whose father was the late dictator General Omar Torrijos who ruled Panama from 1968 until his death in 1981.

During the campaign, both candidates had vowed not to revive the nation’s authoritarian past, but in his victory speech Mr Torrijos said: “If my father were here, he would be proud of what we accomplished today.

“I invite everyone to join in a new social pact against poverty, corruption and despair,” he continued.

“It will be a social pact of solidarity, social justice, opportunity and prosperity.”

Campaign officials said the US-educated Mr Torrijos would focus on tax and spending reform, negotiating a free trade agreement with Washington, and improving the canal.

Mr Torrijos won around 47% of the vote, to around 29% for Mr Endara, with about one-quarter of votes counted. In his concession speech, Mr Endara said: “I am happy, because our democracy emerged from this untouched.”

Third-place candidate Jose Miguel Aleman, of President Mireya Moscoso’s ruling Arnulfista Party, conceded defeat after winning around 19%, saying, “the people have spoken loudly and clearly, and Martin Torrijos is the president of all Panamanians”.

Voter turnout in the nation of 2.8 million reached nearly 80%, despite the fact that both leading candidates were heavily associated with the country’s troubled past.

“Our people have liked democracy so much, they don’t want to lose it,” quipped Mr Endara, whose 1989 election was overturned by the military. He was sworn into office later that year, when US troops invaded Panama and overthrew dictator General Manuel Noriega, and served until 1994.

After rejecting his father’s authoritarian style, Mr Torrijos paid a visit to his father’s crypt before voting yesterday. Later in the day, he said: “I hope that people vote thinking of the future, about their families and the needs of the country.”

Despite his authoritarian rule, some have fond memories of Mr Torrijos’ father. He was liked for his folksy style, land reform and public works, and for signing the treaty that resulted in the handover of the formerly US-run canal to Panama.

But the younger Torrijos has reformed the party, easing out most of the old guard, and Panama abolished its armed forces in 1992.