Noriega Claims Lead; Bush Calls on Him to Step Aside : Observers Call Vote ‘a Fraud’

The government today said that its candidate was winning Panama’s presidential election, which has been widely denounced by international observers as a fraud.

President Bush said the election was marred by “massive irregularities” and called on military strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega to relinquish power.

“I call on all foreign leaders to urge Gen. Noriega to honor the clear results of the election,” Bush said in a hurriedly called question-and-answer session with reporters in the Oval Office.

The President refused to discuss what action he might take against Panama. Earlier, his spokesman said Bush was considering options ranging from military force to economic sanctions.

The President said he would not talk about U.S. options until Panama announces the official results of Sunday’s election.

Former President Jimmy Carter, who led a private observer group in Panama, went into a meeting with Bush late in the day to relay his observations. On Monday, Carter called the voting an “outrageous fraud.”

3-1 Margin Claimed

The Panamanian opposition, which claimed a 3-1 victory margin in the vote, said it was paying no attention to official results and offered to negotiate with the government.

In Washington, U.S. observers told Bush that the election had been fraudulent. They discussed options for putting pressure on Panama and said Bush had not ruled out military means for putting an end to Noriega’s rule.

White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said any U.S. action would depend on an announcement of the final outcome of the voting and a declaration by Noriega of what he intends to do. “Our policy remains that Noriega must go,” Fitzwater said.

Sunday’s vote was considered a referendum on Noriega, Panama’s de facto leader and chief of the 15,000-member Defense Forces. The United States has been trying to oust him for more than a year.

Panama’s government said today that Noriega’s candidate, Carlos Duque, had 80,646 votes and that opposition candidate Guillermo Endara had 54,437 votes.

The official results, from four of 40 election districts, were announced in an empty conference hall at the tabulation center.

Carter said Monday that Noriega’s soldiers had seized legitimate returns and that the results being provided were counterfeit.

Carter said he believed that an exit poll conducted by the Roman Catholic Church, which showed the opposition leading by a 3-1 margin, was an accurate reflection of the balloting.

The opposition released figures from its own poll-watchers saying that Endara had 236,097 votes, with 35.8% counted, and that Duque had 79,260 votes.

Carter, who was an invited guest, left Panama today after denouncing Noriega as a dictator who was stealing the election from the people.

Election Tribunal spokesman Boris Moreno said tabulation board President Diomedes Rosas had told Carter that he was an invited guest and could not pass judgment, give advice or issue conclusions. Carter stalked out, Moreno said.