With nearly all the votes counted, Martín Torrijos of the Democratic Revolutionary Party led with 47% of the vote, followed by former President Guillermo Endara of the Solidarity Party, with 30%. Endara formally conceded the election at around 21:00 local time.
Torrijos will replace outgoing president Mireya Moscoso for a five-year term, beginning on 1 September2004. Along with Torrijos, voters also elected his two vice-presidents, who run on party tickets in conjunction with the presidential candidates.
Torrijos is the son of Omar Torrijos Herrera, who served as Panama's de facto president from 1968 to 1978. Although Omar Torrijos was a radical nationalist, Martín Torrijos is described as a centrist who favors a market economy and a free-trade agreement with the United States.
Legislative and local elections
In addition to its president and vice presidents, Panama elected a new Legislative Assembly (78 members), 20 deputies to represent the country at the Central American Parliament, and a string of mayors and other municipal officers.
Elections are commonly understood as the processes of voting for public office or public policy, but they are also used to choose leaders and settle policy questions in private organizations, such as corporations, labor unions, and religious groups.
The election of a president and vice president is an indirect election.
The election proved to be the last one of significance for the Federalist party, largely owing to anti-British American nationalism engendered by the war.
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