Weekly Report - 15 January 2009 (ISSN 1741-7422)

The supermarket tycoon, Ricardo Martinelli, is looking increasingly likely to win May's presidential elections for his Cambio Democrático (CD) party. With the 2 February deadline for political parties to finalise their alliances looming, the small opposition party, Molirena, abandoned its electoral agreement with the main opposition Partido Panameñista (formerly Arnulfista) to throw its weight behind Martinelli.