Noriega Foes Decry Raids on Vote Centers

PANAMA CITY â€”  Opposition supporters gathered today to protest a presidential election they said was stolen when Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega’s soldiers seized vote tallies at gunpoint nationwide.

Dissidents said Noriega, Panama’s de facto ruler, ordered the raid on vote-counting centers because the returns would show his hand-picked presidential candidate losing badly to the U.S.-backed opposition.

“The government is confessing that it lost the elections by seizing the tallies across the nation,� said Ricardo Arias Calderon, the opposition’s vice presidential candidate.

Polls closed Sunday at 5 p.m., but the official tabulation board said it had not received a single vote to count by this morning.

Both opposition presidential candidate Guillermo Endara and government candidate Carlos Duque claimed victory and cited rival exit polls as proof. The new president is to take office Sept. 1.

Military units and groups of government and opposition supporters gathered in the streets for an afternoon protest march.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said the United States would withhold comment until the results are announced and a U.S. observer team reports its findings.

At the State Department, deputy spokesman Richard Boucher said, “At this juncture it appears clear that the people of Panama have voted for democracy. It is now up to Gen. Noriega to respect the wishes of the Panamanian people.�

The United States has been trying to oust Noriega, who was indicted on federal drug trafficking charges last year in Florida. The United States imposed economic sanctions, supported anti-government leaders and reportedly gave $10 million to the opposition election campaign.

Before today’s raids, the opposition charged during Sunday’s voting that soldiers had voted more than once and that there were 100,000 extra names on voter rolls.