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On Sunday, April 3 PRD members showed up at about 800 polling stations across the country to vote for their local (corregimiento) party leaders and officers in the party's youth and women's organizations. Some of the races were hard fought, and for some offices where there was only one candidate, people from rival factions cast blank or spoiled ballots. By and large, however, things went off with few hitches.

The PRD is on hard times of late, as they are losing members to the president's Cambio Democratico Party, the Martinelli administration is using prosecutions and audits or the threat of these to intimidate PRD elected officials and campaign contributors, and the party has been embarrassed by some scandals that were not contrived. Still, they are Panama's largest political party and have a strong election organization.

Also in this section:
US State Department report on human rights in Panama
Editor's notes about the US State Department human rights report
Supreme Court scandal deepens: new witnesses, defenses that look like admissions
Last jailed Cuban journalist released, Cuba launches campaign against US propaganda
PRD votes for local and women's and youth group leaders
Cross-dressing consul resigns
Former bagwoman for corrupt high court magistrates sings in public
Ruckus raised over diplomat in drag
WikiLeaks highlights, worsens US-RP relations
Final farewell for Billy Ford
Guillermo Ford dies
Revelations in Spanish, Tico media embarrass Martinelli

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