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The 57-year-old businessman, Ricardo Martinelli became the new president of Panama. Alliance for Change party's Ricardo Martinelli got 61 percent of votes while Balbina Herrera of the ruling centre-left Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) garnered 37 percent of votes in the presidential elections. According to election officials, Martinelli's coalition has won 37 seats in the 71-seat National Assembly and Herrera's bloc has 23 seats.
The new president of Panama will hold his office on July 1 and will remain the head of the country for the next five years. The voters of the country turned to Ricardo Martinelli mainly because of his business experience, which might help the country to gain some momentum in the face of global economic slowdown. The owner of Panama's largest supermarket chain, Super 99, Ricardo Martinelli said that he will strive for a unity government in the country.
The new president of Panama is expected to implement a $5.25-billion project aimed to increase the Panama Canal's capacity for accommodating larger ships. Martinelli assured to implement massive public works programme for bringing back country's economy on track. Last year, the country suffered its highest inflation levels since the early 1980s. Owing to global recession, Panama's economic growth might slow down to 3 percent or less in the current year.
