Panama's vice-president wins top job

Panama's vice-president wins top job
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Panama’s vice president has won the presidency after standing as an opposition candidate.

Juan Carlos Varela of the centre-right Panamenista Party (PP) was declared the winner by the country’s electoral committee after securing around 40 percent of the vote.

Varela took credit for outgoing President Ricardo Martinelli’s policies while promising a cleaner government.

He inherits having to oversee a major expansion of the Panama Canal which was briefly interrupted earlier this year due to a row over costs.
