Opposition candidate Juan Carlos Varela was proclaimed winner of Panama's presidential election Sunday in official preliminary results, dpa reported today. With more than 80 per cent of the votes counted, Varela, of the right-wing Partido Panamenista, led with 39 per cent, according to the Electoral Tribunal. Jose Domingo Arias, of the ruling party Democratic Change, was second with 32 per cent, while former Panama City mayor Juan Carlos Navarro had 27.7 per cent. The remaining four candidates received less than 1 per cent of the vote each. Electoral Tribunal president Erasmo Pinilla phoned Varela less than four hours after polling stations closed to tell him that he was considered to have an insurmountable lead in the count. Arias accepted defeat and promised to lead a "constructive opposition," and Navarro also accepted Varela's triumph. Varela, 50, is the country's outgoing vice president who fell out with conservative President Ricardo Martinelli in 2011.
