Weekly Report - 20 April 2004

With less than half a month to go to Panama's 2 May elections, Martí­n Torrijos of the left-of-centre Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD) retains a solid lead over his nearest rival, former President Guillermo Endara, who is running under the banner of the Partido Solidaridad (PS). With the lineup virtually unchanged since the beginning of the year, the only novelty has been a call by parties to the left of the PRD and some unions to cast blank or spoilt ballots as a protest against `the lack of real choice'.