The conservative candidateJosé Raúl Mulino, who was appointed as presidential candidate ofRealizing Goals following the conviction and subsequent disqualification of former presidentRicardo Martinelli,[6] won the election with 34.2% of the vote.[7][8] Mulino defeated a total of seven other candidates, among whom his closest rival wasRicardo Lombana ofMOCA, who received around 24.6%.[9]
Of the 71 members of theNational Assembly, 26 are elected in single-member constituencies and 45 by proportional representation in multi-member constituencies. Eachdistrict with more than 40,000 inhabitants forms a constituency. Constituencies elect one MP for every 30,000 residents and an additional representative for every fraction over 10,000.[20] Around three million people were eligible to vote in the election.[21]
In single-member constituencies MPs are elected using thefirst-past-the-post system. In multi-member constituencies MPs are elected using party listproportional representation according to a double quotient; the first allocation of seats uses a simple quotient, further seats are allotted using the quotient divided by two, with any remaining seats are awarded to the parties with the greatest remainder.[20]
The president is elected byplurality vote in a single round.
In order to get on the ballot, independents had to gather and submit an amount of signatures that exceeded 2% of the vote in the previous election for the position they were seeking, with a maximum of three independent nominations per position.[30][31] The three independent presidential nominations were won byZulay Rodríguez,[32] a two-termAssembly member for theDemocratic Revolutionary Party, Maribel Gordón, an economist and 2019 vice-presidential candidate of the now-defunctBroad Front for Democracy,[33][34][35] and Melitón Arrocha, a former Commerce Minister and member of the Assembly for thePanameñista Party.[36][37]
The presidential primary of theRealizing Goals party, a new party founded by former presidentRicardo Martinelli due to disagreements with the president ofDemocratic Change (also originally founded by Martinelli),Rómulo Roux,[39][40] was held on 4 June 2023.[41] Martinelli won the nomination with over 96% of the primary vote.[38] He attempted to select his wife,Marta Linares de Martinelli, as his running mate,[42] but the legality of this selection was questioned and resulted in Linares declining the vice-presidential nomination.[43]José Raúl Mulino was subsequently selected as RM's official vice-presidential candidate.[43] The party also celebrated an alliance with theAlliance Party.[44]
TheDemocratic Change primary was held on 9 July 2023.[53]Rómulo Roux, the party's 2019 presidential candidate and former canal and foreign minister,[54] won the primary with 52.6% of the vote over Yanibel Ábrego, who attracted 46.2% of the vote.[52] Ábrego, an Assembly member, ran promising to celebrate an electoral alliance with Martinelli and Realizing Goals.[55]
José Isabel Blandón won thePanameñista Party primary unopposed.[56] The party later formed an electoral alliance with Democratic Change.[57] As such, Rómulo Roux became the party's presidential candidate, while Blandón became the vice-presidential candidate.[58]
ThePeople's Party initially considered forming an alliance with Democratic Change and the Panameñista Party, but this proposal fell through.[59] The party opted to nominate former presidentMartín Torrijos instead.[60] Rosario Turner, a former health minister, was chosen as his running mate.[61]
The newIndependent Social Alternative Party (PAIS) initially selected José Alberto Álvarez as its candidate via a party congress on 29 July 2023.[65] The party later backed the independent candidacy ofMelitón Arrocha.[66] The party declared it was not aware of Arrocha's April 29 decision to endorse Martín Torrijos, with party president Álvarez referring to it as an "unpleasant surprise."[67] The party unlinked itself from Arrocha's decision.[68] As Arrocha did not formally decline his candidacy, he remained on the ballot as both an independent candidate and PAIS's presidential candidate.[69][70]
In 2021, former presidentRicardo Martinelli announced that he would run again for president as leader ofRealizing Goals.[71] On 18 July 2023, however, a criminal court sentenced him to more than 10 years' imprisonment for money laundering, relating to the "New Business" case involving the granting of lucrative government contracts to businesses that later transferred money to a front set up by Martinelli.[72] His conviction was upheld by theSupreme Court on 2 February 2024, making him ineligible to run again for president in elections that he wanted to contest later in the year.[73] On 4 March his candidacy was formally revoked by the Electoral Tribunal, which declared his running-mate, former foreign ministerJosé Raúl Mulino, as the replacement presidential candidate in his place without a vice-president.[74][75][76] On 3 May, the Supreme Court voted 8–1 to dismiss a legal challenge against Mulino's candidacy on the grounds that he was not selected as candidate in a party primary and lacked a vice-presidential candidate, arguing that to do so would be a greater harm to Realizing Goals and the Alliance Party, which would have been left without a presidential candidate.[77][76]
Since his conviction in February 2024, Martinelli has insisted that he would continue his presidential campaign, but has since sought asylum at theNicaraguan embassy inPanama City.[78] He has posted video messages supporting Mulino throughout the campaign.[5]
The election was held against a backdrop of voter discontent. One poll found an 86% disapproval rating for the incumbent president, Nito Cortizo, and that 9 out of 10 of Panamanians thought the country was on the wrong path.[79] Another found two out of three citizens wanted "radical change". The same poll found were 83% are dissatisfied with their democracy.[80]
Among significant issues during the campaign were corruption, the economy, the environment and constitutional reform, withRómulo Roux andRicardo Lombana pledging to revise or replace the currentconstitution enacted in 1972. Specifically, Lombana wants the presidential election to be decided by a run-off.[80] Martín Torrijos pledged to jumpstart the economy by investing in thePanama Canal, while Roux pledged to implement an "aggressive" job creation scheme and improve public services.[5]
The closure of theCobre Panamá copper mine in 2023following protests was also a significant issue, with all candidates supporting the Supreme Court's decision to annul a 20-year contract awarded toFirst Quantum Minerals as unconstitutional. However, Roux, Lombana andMaribel Gordón supported the total closure and conversion (reclamation) of the mine site.[81][5]
On the topic of corruption, Lombana pledged to fight the influence of drug money in Panamanian politics.[80] According toGallup, 57% of Panamanians believed corruption is the most important issue ahead of the election.[79]
José Raúl Mulino pledged to close theDarién Gap as a route for migrants heading to the United States and repatriate migrants already in Panama, while promising to respect their rights.[82] He also pledged to provide help to Ricardo Martinelli once he was in office.[83] Lombana opposed closing the Darién Gap and instead proposed to improve security conditions for migrants transiting the country.[5]
Over the course of the campaign,Zulay Rodríguez attempted to resign her seat in the Assembly, without success.[84]
On 30 April, presidential candidateMelitón Arrocha announced that he was supporting former presidentMartín Torrijos, but did not formally withdraw his candidacy.[85][69]
Polling opened at 07:00 on 5 May and closed at 16:00 Eastern Standard Time.[86] There were no reported incidents, and voting went smoothly.[87] However, inconsistencies in vote counting were reported inBocas del Toro,Panamá Province,Penonomé, andVeraguas.[88]
All the parties received the 2% of the vote that is the minimum necessary to avoid dissolution in the presidential race, except the MOLIRENA and PAIS. MOLIRENA avoided dissolution by receiving 3% of the vote for deputy, but PAIS did not receive 2% in any election and so was dissolved.[92][93]
Also elected were Panama's deputies to theCentral American Parliament. These were elected based on the presidential vote and distributed proportionally.MOCA andDemocratic Change did not nominate any candidates.[94] The following candidates were elected:[95]
Carlos Outten (RM-Primary)/Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Linares (Alternate)
The outgoing president,Nito Cortizo, and the outgoing vice-president,José Gabriel Carrizo, are also automatically assigned a seat in thePARLACEN, but have not manifested whether they will take those seats.[95]
The election saw several candidates under investigation, such as former presidentJuan Carlos Varela and the sons of former presidentRicardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal (who were elected as alternates), win.[95] Several voices have spoken in favor of Panama leaving the PARLACEN.[95]
The legislative elections produced no majority in the Assembly, necessitating the formation of coalitions in order to control the body. Ultimately, RM forged an alliance with thePRD,CD, the Alliance Party,MOLIRENA, 6 Panameñista deputies, and 1 People's Party deputy to control the Assembly with 44 votes and electedDana Castañeda President of the National Assembly.[97]
Political independents performed notably well in the election, winning 20 seats for a net gain of 15. Nineteen of these are affiliated with the Coalición Vamos,[98] a political organization dedicated to helping political independents be elected to positions across the country, led by Juan Diego Vásquez andGabriel Silva[99] and which was endorsed by musician and former tourism minister,Rubén Blades.[100] Eduardo Gaitán, who was elected in the multi-member constituency based inSan Miguelito, received the most votes of any candidate for the Assembly in the country.[101][99] Neftalí Zamora, also affiliated with Vamos, became the youngest member-elect of the Assembly.[102] After the election, Betserai Richards, the sole independent not elected as part of Vamos, announced he would join Vamos's legislative grouping.[103] The members of this group all renounced several privileges given to Assembly members,[103] as did MOCA member-elect José Pérez Barboni.[104]
The election also saw an extremely low rate of reelection among members who sought to retain their seats,[105] as well as a large amount of young candidates who were elected to the Assembly and several major mayoralties.[106]
Hernán Delgado (Democratic Change): Sought to become the alternate deputy for the seat, running for RM with his daughter as the principal candidate.[107]
Some seats saw disputed results. Twenty-two elected deputies saw their elections challenged.[118]
InBocas del Toro, one seat was allocated toDemocratic Change candidate Yesica Romero, while the second is contested between Benicio Robinson, one of the incumbent PRD members who is also the party's president, and Ubalde Vallejos of thePanameñista Party. Official results certified Robinson as the winner, but Vallejos announced he will challenge the results, alleging Robinson spent 3 million dollars on the campaign,[119] in excess of the 300,000 dollar spending limit imposed.[120] Vallejos formally filed the challenge on 23 May.[121] The challenge was rejected.[122]
InPenonomé, one seat was allocated to Democratic Change candidate Julio De La Guardia, while the second went toAnother Way Movement (MOCA) candidate Víctor Carles in preliminary results. In the final results, this seat was instead allocated to PRD incumbent Néstor Guardia. MOCA announced it will challenge these results.[123] The party filed two criminal proceedings in relation to the election, citing "grave irregularities" in the Unofficial Transmission of Results System and requesting access to all entries made to the system from 7 and 10 May.[124][125]
The tensions caused by the result in the constituency and theSantiago de Veraguas mayoral election prompted the Electoral Tribunal to call for calm.[126]
In the 2–3 constituency, the eligibility of the apparent winner, Dana Castañeda, was the subject of a legal challenge presented before the Electoral Tribunal since before the election.[120][127] Castañeda was ultimately allowed to take the seat.[128]
The result in the 3-2 constituency, where Nelson Jackson was elected, was challenged by Yinela Ábrego.[118] However, Ábrego did not present the required deposit and so the challenge was dismissed.[129]
In the 8-2 constituency, based inSan Miguelito District, preliminary results showedZulay Rodríguez winning a seat as an independent. However, final results showed the seat instead going to Omar Ortega ofRealizing Goals. Rodríguez said 94 votes were taken from her and stated her lawyers will analyze the matter.[130] She later announced she was 64 votes shy of retaining the seat and would challenge the results.[131] Rodríguez formally filed the challenge and was joined by José Ruiloba, a PRD candidate[132] and nephew of reelected deputy Raúl Pineda,[133] who challenged the Vamos slate's third quotient seat.[134] Ruiloba's challenge was dismissed, while Rodríguez's has not yet been resolved.[135]
InPanama City, two seats emerged in contention. José Pérez Barboni, a MOCA member-elect for the 8-3 constituency, said the PRD attempted to swing the constituency's results in favor of their candidates. Paulette Thomas, a Vamos candidate also elected to another one of the constituency's five seats, backed Pérez Barboni's claims and stated her own election was also at risk.[136] Ultimately, Pérez Barboni was certified as a member-elect.[137]
In the 8-4 constituency, also in Panama City, unofficial results showed Grace Hernández of MOCA winning the constituency's fifth seat; these were challenged by Alejandro Pérez of theRealizing Goals party.[138] Later on, PRD incumbent Victor Castillo also tried to claim the seat.[139] Ultimately, Hernández won the seat and has been projected to be elected to theNational Assembly of Panama.[140][141] Pérez later presented a legal challenge to the election of all five deputies in the circuit.[120] The challenge was rejected.[142]
In the 8-6 constituency, in eastern Panama City, the Electoral Prosecutor's Office challenged the election of Alaín Cedeño, designated leader of the Realizing Goals legislative grouping, alleging he exceeded campaign spending limits.[120] Cedeño has accused José Muñoz, a fellow deputy candidate and president of RM's electoral ally, the Alliance Party, of being behind the challenge[120] and the Electoral Prosecutor's Office of trying to give his seat to Muñoz.[143] Later, Cecibel García challenged the constituency's full results.[144] Both challenges were dismissed.[145][146]
In the 13-4 constituency, based inLa Chorrera, PRD candidate Eliécer Montenegro filed a challenge to the election of the constituencies' three deputies, citing "alterations and errors" in the vote count records.[147][148]
Mayer Mizrachi, candidate of the People's Party, won thePanama City mayoral election with 32.5% of the vote, defeating Edison Broce, an independent Assembly member backed by theAnother Way Movement, who took 27.4%. Willie Bermudez, head of the local government of the Don Bosco corregimiento backed by the alliance of thePanameñista Party andDemocratic Change, won 18.9%.[150] Sergio "Chello" Gálvez, an Assembly member nominated by the alliance ofRealizing Goals and theAlliance Party, came in fourth with 11.4%,[151] while incumbentPRD mayorJosé Luis Fábrega, also nominated by the PRD's electoral allies, theNationalist Republican Liberal Movement, came in fifth with 7.4% of the vote.[152]
In the 26-member city council, 7 seats were won by the PRD, 4 by RM, 5 by Vamos-affiliated independents, 4 by the CD/Panameñista alliance, 2 by non-Vamos independents, 2 by MOCA, and 2 by MOLIRENA.[153]
Irma Hernández, an independent affiliated with the Coalición Vamos por Panamá, won theSan Miguelito mayoral election with just over 50%, defeating her closest rivalZulay Rodríguez (who also ran for president and reelection to the Assembly), nominated by RM and the Alliance Party, who won 31.1%. Héctor Carrasquilla, the incumbent PRD mayor, came in third with 11.7% of the vote.[155]Independent candidates also won a majority of five seats in the city council.[156]
Diógenes Galván, an independent backed by Democratic Change, won theColón mayoral election with 30.5% of the vote. Luz Omaira, nominated by RM and Alliance, came in second place, while incumbent PRD mayorAlex Lee came in third.[160]
Joaquín De León, nominated by the Panameñista Party and Democratic Change, won theDavid mayoral election with 41.5% of the vote, defeating incumbent mayor Antonio Araúz[161] of the PRD-MOLIRENA alliance, who won 17.9%, and Juancy Morales, nominated by RM, who won 17.8%.[162]
The mayoral election election inSantiago de Veraguas was extremely close. The vote count, where Eric Jaén of the Another Way Movement and Itzela García of the PRD emerged as the primary contenders, generated tensions between supporters of the PRD and the MOCA, with Juan Diego Vásquez, leader of the Vamos Coalition, asking independent candidates to guard the votes.[163] Ultimately, Jaén won over García by a margin of just two votes.[164] García presented a legal challenge to the results,[120] which was rejected.[165]
Fellow candidate Ricardo Lombana congratulated Mulino on his victory,[168] followed by Martín Torrijos and Rómulo Roux.[169]
Pedro Miguel González, a member of theDemocratic Revolutionary Party, called for the resignation of the party's National Executive Committee, including that of party president Benicio Robinson, in the wake of the party's overwhelming defeat.[170]Crispiano Adames, a reelected Assembly member, stated the party's internal situation was rather deteriorated,[171] and resigned his position as first vice-president of the party.[172] Robinson agreed with the need for restructuring but resisted calls for his resignation.[173]
The board of directors ofDemocratic Change, led by Rómulo Roux, activated the process to select a new board of directors following the party's defeat.[174][175] Other party members directly called for Roux's resignation as party president,[176] including former Roux allies like outgoing Penonomé mayor Paula González and Raúl Andrade.[177] Several members, including outgoing Assembly member Mayín Correa, called for the party to ally itself with the incomingRealizing Goals administration.[177] Yanibel Ábrego ultimately won the party's presidency in its internal 2024 elections.[178]
The Panameñista Party started a review process to consider whether or not to replace the party leadership.[179] Other party members, led by former presidentMireya Moscoso and Jaime Alemán, said the alliance with Democratic Change was a mistake and called for Blandón to step down from the party leadership.[180][181][182]
United States — Secretary of StateAntony Blinken congratulated Mulino on his victory, and said that he looked forward to continued strategic partnerships and curbing irregular migration through the Darien Gap.[184]
European Union — TheEuropean External Action Service praised the high turnout and congratulated Mulino while saying they looked forward to working with the new administration. They also sent an Election Expert Mission to make a technical assessment of the electoral process.[185]
^Mulino was initially nominated asRicardo Martinelli's running mate. After Martinelli's disqualification as candidate, Mulino assumes the replacement but without a running mate by electoral disposition.[1]
^Herrera was elected in 2019 but his term was served by his alternate.[108]
^abcdeThis member was elected as a member of Democratic Change, but ran for reelection as part of Realizing Goals.[112]
^This member was elected as a member of Democratic Change, but ran for reelection as part of a PRD-RM alliance.[115][116]
^abJuncá, Alfredo; Valdés Escoffery, Eduardo; Guerra, Luis (12 March 2024)."BOLETÍN DEL TRIBUNAL ELECTORAL"(PDF).Electoral Tribunal.Archived(PDF) from the original on 10 April 2024. Retrieved9 May 2024.
4.64pp)
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El Salvador — PresidentNayib Bukele was the first international leader to call Mulino to congratulate him.[183]
United States — Secretary of StateAntony Blinken congratulated Mulino on his victory, and said that he looked forward to continued strategic partnerships and curbing irregular migration through the Darien Gap.[184]
European Union — TheEuropean External Action Service praised the high turnout and congratulated Mulino while saying they looked forward to working with the new administration. They also sent an Election Expert Mission to make a technical assessment of the electoral process.[185]_20241112.jpg)
