Martin Torrijos, the son of Gen. Omar Torrijos, overwhelmingly won the Democratic Revolution
                  Party's primary elections on Sunday. Torrijos, 39, was the party's presidential candidate in
                  1999, and lost to President Mireya Moscoso of the Arnulfista Party.

                  "It will be up to us to work so that this country doesn't continue to live in misery," he said.
                  "Panama is waiting for a positive change."

                  According to preliminary results by Democratic Revolution's national electoral committee,
                  Torrijos received more than 96 percent of the votes cast late Sunday.

                  Francisco Sanchez and Mitchell Doens, Torrijos' main opponents, received 1,153 and 547
                  votes, respectively, compared with 107,872 for Torrijos. A fourth candidate received the
                  remaining votes.

                  Sanchez and Doens served as government secretaries under former-President Ernesto Perez
                  Balladares, who left office in 1999.

                  Omar Torrijos seized power in a 1968 coup and ruled Panama until he was killed in a plane
                  crash in 1981. Manuel Noriega subsequently took control of the army and used rigged elections
                  to remain in office for eight years.

                  The United States invaded Panama on December 20, 1989, and removed Noriega from power.
                  He is now serving a 40-year sentence in Florida for drug-related crimes.

                  The younger Torrijos studied political science and economics at the University of Texas. Afte r
                  losing the presidential race in 1999, Torrijos became secretary of his party.

                  So far, he is the country's main presidential hopeful, along with Solidarity Party candidate
                  Guillermo Endara, who became president after the U.S. invasion in 1989 and left office in 1994.

                  Moscoso is forbidden by law from seeking another consecutive term, and her party has not yet
                  named its presidential candidate.

                  The elections will be held in May 2004.