2024 Panamanian general election

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2024 Panamanian general election
← 2019 5 May 2024 2029 →
Presidential election
Turnout77.64% Increase4.63pp
Reporting
99.63%
as of 9:00 pm EST
 
Candidate José Raúl Mulino Ricardo Lombana Martín Torrijos
Party RM MOCA PP
Running mate None[a] Michael Chen Rosario Turner
Popular vote 776,137 557,832 363,124
Percentage 34.24% 24.61% 16.02%
 
Candidate Rómulo Roux Zulay Rodríguez José Gabriel Carrizo
Party CD Independent PRD
Running mate José Blandón Athenas Athanasiadis Camilo Alleyne
Popular vote 257,767 149,638 133,025
Percentage 11.37% 6.60% 5.86%
President before election

Laurentino Cortizo
PRD

Elected President

José Raúl Mulino
RM

Legislative election
All 71 seats in the National Assembly
36 seats needed for a majority
Turnout75.81% Increase5.10pp
Reporting
98.96%
as of 9:00 pm EST
Party Seats +/–
National Assembly
Independents

21 +16
RM

13 New
PRD

13 −22
CD

8 −10
Panameñista

8 0
MOCA

3 New
PP

2 +2
Alianza

2 +2
MOLIRENA

1 −4
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Preliminary results
(The Democratic Revolutionary Party took a seat away from Another Way Movement after this image was created)[needs update]
Politics of Panama
Constitution
Executive
Legislature
Administrative divisions
Elections
Foreign relations

General elections were held in Panama on 5 May 2024 to elect a new President of Panama, members of the National Assembly and local governments.[2][3] Due to constitutional term limits, incumbent president Laurentino Cortizo was ineligible for a second consecutive term.[4] The winners of the general election, including the new president of Panama, will be inaugurated on 1 July.[5]

The conservative candidate José Raúl Mulino, who was appointed as presidential candidate of Realizing Goals following the conviction and subsequent disqualification of former president Ricardo Martinelli,[6] won the election with 34.4% of the vote.[7][8] Mulino defeated a total of seven other candidates, among whom his closest rival was Ricardo Lombana of MOCA, who received around 24.8%.[9]

The governing Democratic Revolutionary Party suffered their worst electoral result in their party's history, even though they are the largest political party in Panama.[10] Their candidate, incumbent vice president José Gabriel Carrizo, came in sixth place with 5.83% of the vote; and the party suffered significant losses in the legislative and local elections, losing the mayorships of the most populated districts of the country, including Panama District,[11] San Miguelito,[12] Colón,[13] Arraiján,[14] La Chorrera,[15] David,[16] and Santiago de Veraguas.[17]

In contrast, there was an outstanding performance by new parties and independent politicians. Realizing Goals, the party of the president-elect, which was founded in 2021 by former president Ricardo Martinelli, gained 13 seats in the National Assembly. Another Way Movement, founded in late 2019 by Ricardo Lombana, became the most-voted opposition party by gaining a fourth of the presidential vote, four members of the National Assembly and numerous local governments, including the mayorship of Santiago.[17][18]

Electoral system[edit]

Of the 71 members of the National Assembly, 26 are elected in single-member constituencies and 45 by proportional representation in multi-member constituencies. Each district 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.[19] Around three million people were eligible to vote in the election.[20]

In single-member constituencies MPs are elected using the first-past-the-post system. In multi-member constituencies MPs are elected using party list proportional 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.[19]

The president is elected by plurality vote in a single round.

Presidential candidates[edit]

Declared[edit]

Disqualified[edit]

Ricardo Martinelli[edit]

In 2021, former president Ricardo Martinelli announced that he would run again for president as leader of Realizing Goals.[29] 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.[30] His conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court on 2 February 2024, making him ineligible to run again for president in elections that he wanted to contest later in the year.[31] On 4 March his candidacy was formally revoked by the Electoral Tribunal, which allowed his running-mate, former foreign minister José Raúl Mulino, to run for president.[32] 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.[33]

Since his conviction in February 2024, Martinelli has insisted that he would continue his presidential campaign, but has since sought asylum at the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City.[34] He has posted video messages supporting Mulino throughout the campaign.[5]

Campaign[edit]

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.[35] Another found two out of three citizens wanted "radical change". The same poll found were 83% are dissatisfied with their democracy.[36]

Among significant issues during the campaign were corruption, the economy, the environment and constitutional reform, with Rómulo Roux and Ricardo Lombana pledging to revise or replace the current constitution enacted in 1972. Specifically, Lombana wants the presdential election to be decided by a run-off.[36] Martín Torrijos pledged to jumpstart the economy by investing in the Panama Canal, while Roux pledged to implement an "aggressive" job creation scheme and improve public services.[5]

The closure of the Cobre Panamá copper mine in 2023 was also a significant issue, with all candidates supporting the Supreme Court's decision to annul a 20-year contract awarded to First Quantum Minerals as unconstitutional. However, Roux, Lombana and Maribel Gordón supported the total closure and conversion of the mining site.[37][5]

On the topic of corruption, Lombana pledged to fight the influence of drug money in Panamanian politics.[36] According to Gallup, 57% of Panamanians believed corruption is the most important issue ahead of the election.[35]

José Raúl Mulino pledged to close the Darién Gap as a route for migrants heading to the United States and repatriate migrants already in Panama, while promising to respect their rights.[38] He also pledged to provide help to Ricardo Martinelli once he was in office.[39] Lombana opposed closing the Darién Gap and instead proposed to improve security conditions for migrants transiting the country.[5]

On 30 April, presidential candidate Melitón Arrocha announced that he was supporting former president Martín Torrijos, but did not formally withdraw his candidacy.[40][41]

Opinion polls[edit]

Pollster Date Sample size Mulino (RM) Martinelli (RM) Lombana (MOC) Carrizo (PRD) Roux (CD) Blandón (PAN) Torrijos (PP) Other Blank
Election Results
(at 99.63% reporting) 		2 May 2024 2,266,575

34.2%

— 24.6% 5.9% 11.4% 16.0% 7.9% —
Statista Research Department 14 March–20 March 2024 –

35%

— 12% — 14% 15% 19% 5.8%
Mercadeo Planificado 3 February–5 February 2024 –

26%

— 10.8% 6.5% 10.2% 10.8% — 5.8%
2 February 2024 Ricardo Martinelli is disqualified by the Supreme Court
His running mate José Raúl Mulino becomes Presidential Candidate
Acción Ciudadana 27 January–3 February 2024 – 40% 11% 4% 8% 9% — 3%
C&E Research 10–15 January 2024 – 30% 12% 10% 14% 22% — 3%
26 September 2023 José Isabel Blandón ends his Presidential candidacy
Becomes the running mate of Rómulo Roux
Gismo Services S.A. 19–23 August 2023 – 29% 5% 28% 13% 10% 7% — 3%
C&E Research 11 April 2023 – 44% 10% 3% 8% 5% 18% — 12%
Gallup Panama 13–21 March 2023 1,200 62% 12% 1% 7% 4% 9% 5% 24%
Gismo Services 22–23 February 2023 1,800 33% 6% 29% 13% 9% — 10% 6%
Gallup Panama 9-16 February 2023 1,200 62% 16% 5% 11% 5% — 26%
Gismo Services 17–23 January 2023 1,800 30% 7% 27% 11% 9% — 10% 6%
Gismo Services 6–10 December 2022 1,800 32% 9% 28% 12% 9% — 10% 6%
Gismo Services 3–7 September 2022 1,800 35% 6% 27% 13% 7% — — 12%
Gismo Services 27–31 July 2022 1,800 34.1% 3.4% 26.1% 13.6% 6.8% — — 12%
Gismo Services 7–11 May 2022 1,800 35.3% 4.7% 27.1% 15.3% 8.2% — — 15%
Gismo Services 6–10 April 2022 1,800 37.1% 3.4% 25.8% 14.6% 9% — — 11%
Gallup Panama 11–16 March 2022 1,200 56.6% 13.3% 7.2% 2.4% 6% — 14.4% 17%
Gismo Services 5–10 March 2022 1,800 39.8% 5.7% 23.9% 11.4% 8% — — 12%
Gallup Panama 5–9 February 2022 1,200 57.7% 12.8% 5.1% 4.1% 5.1% — 8% 22%
Gismo Services 3–7 January 2022 1,800 44.9% 5.6% 22.5% 7.9% 5.6% — — 11%
Gismo Services December 2021 1,800 45% 5% 19% 8% 4% — 10% 9%

Conduct[edit]

Polling opened at 07:00 on 5 May and closed at 16:00 Eastern Standard Time.[42] There were no reported incidents, and voting went smoothly.[43]

Results[edit]

Presidential election[edit]

99.63% reporting
CandidatePartyVotes%
José Raúl MulinoRealizing Goals776,13734.24
Ricardo LombanaAnother Way Movement557,83224.61
Martín TorrijosPeople's Party363,12416.02
Rómulo RouxDemocratic Change257,76711.37
Zulay RodríguezIndependent149,6386.60
José Gabriel CarrizoDemocratic Revolutionary Party133,0255.87
Maribel GordónIndependent24,4191.08
Melitón ArrochaIndependent4,6330.20
Total2,266,575100.00
Valid votes2,266,57597.53
Invalid votes38,3971.65
Blank votes19,0000.82
Total votes2,323,972100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,004,08377.36
Source: Tribunal Electoral[44][45]

Legislative election[edit]

98.96% reporting
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Independents21+16
Realizing Goals13New
Democratic Revolutionary Party13−22
Democratic Change8−10
Panameñista Party80
Another Way Movement3New
People's Party2+2
Alliance Party2+2
Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement1−4
Total71–
Registered voters/turnout2,999,625–
Source: Tribunal Electoral[46][45]

Mayoral elections[edit]

Panama City[edit]

Mayer Mizrachi, candidate of the People's Party, won the Panama City mayoral election with 32.5% of the vote, defeating Edison Broce, an independent Assembly member backed by the Another Way Movement, who took 27.4%. Willie Bermudez, head of the local government of the Don Bosco corregimiento backed by the alliance of the Panameñista Party and Democratic Change, won 18.9%.[47] Sergio "Chello" Gálvez, an Assembly member nominated by the alliance of Realizing Goals and the Alliance Party, came in fourth with 11.4%[48], while incumbent PRD mayor José Luis Fábrega, also nominated by the PRD's electoral allies, the Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement, came in fifth with 7.4% of the vote.[49]

San Miguelito[edit]

Irma Hernández, an independent affiliated with the Coalición Vamos por Panamá, won the San Miguelito mayoral election with just over 50%, defeating her closest rival Zulay 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.[50]

Colón[edit]

Diógenes Galván, an independent backed by Democratic Change, won the Colón mayoral election with 30.5% of the vote. Luz Omaira, nominated by RM and Alliance, came in second place, while incumbent PRD mayor Alex Lee came in third.[51]

David[edit]

Joaquín De León, nominated by the Panameñista Party and Democratic Change, won the David mayoral election with 41.5% of the vote, defeating Antonio Araúz of the PRD-MOLIRENA alliance, who won 17.9%, and Juancy Morales, nominated by RM, who won 17.8%.[52]

Santiago de Veraguas[edit]

The mayoral election election in Santiago de Veraguas was extremely close. The vote count, where Eric Jaen 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.[53] Ultimately, Jaen emerged the victor over García by a margin of just two votes.[54]

Reactions[edit]

Domestic[edit]

Fellow candidate Ricardo Lombana congratulated Mulino on his victory,[55] followed by Martín Torrijos and Rómulo Roux.[56]

International[edit]

  •  United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Mulino on his victory, and said that he looked forward to continued strategic partnerships and curbing irregular migration through the Darien Gap.[58]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Mulino was initially nominated as Ricardo Martinelli's running mate. After Martinelli's disqualification as candidate, Mulino assumes the replacement but without a running mate by electoral disposition.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Tribunal Electoral inhabilita a Ricardo Martinelli como candidato presidencial". TVN Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Electoral Tribunal of Panama launched General Elections Plan for 2024 with technical assistance of International IDEA". www.idea.int. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Panama begins registration for an advance vote in general elections - Prensa Latina". 9 March 2023. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Decree of the electoral court for the holding of elections" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Panama election: Voters to choose president after front-runner sentenced". BBC. 5 May 2024. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Panama Supreme Court lets ex-President Martinelli's sentence stand, likely ending his reelection bid". Associated Press News. 2 February 2024. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  7. ^ Alberti, Juan Carlos Paz, Mia (6 May 2024). "Panama's Mulino declared 'unofficial' winner of presidential election". CNN. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "José Raúl Mulino: Stand-in for convicted candidate wins Panama presidency". 6 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  9. ^ Valentine Hilaire; Elida Moreno (5 May 2024). "Panama's Mulino wins presidency with support from convicted former leader". Reuters. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  10. ^ Infobae, Por Newsroom (6 May 2024). "El gobernante PRD obtiene su peor resultado presidencial en unas elecciones de Panamá". infobae (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Mayer Mizrachi es el virtual alcalde de Panamá". www.prensa.com (in Spanish). 6 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Irma Hernández, de la coalición Vamos, derrota a Zulay Rodríguez y a Valdés Carrasquilla en San Miguelito". www.prensa.com (in Spanish). 6 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Diógenes Galván derrota a Alex Lee en la alcaldía de Colón". www.prensa.com (in Spanish). 6 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Stefany Dayan Peñalba le arrebata la alcaldía a Rollyns 'Tropa' Rodríguez en Arraiján". www.midiario.com (in Spanish). 6 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
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  18. ^ "Estos son los diputados de la nueva Asamblea Nacional; la mayoría son independientes". www.prensa.com (in Spanish). 6 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  19. ^ a b Electoral system Archived 29 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine IPU
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  30. ^ "Panama Ex-President Martinelli is sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering". ABC News. Archived from the original on 9 September 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  31. ^ Solís, Alma (2 February 2024). "Panama Supreme Court lets ex-President Martinelli's sentence stand, likely ending his reelection bid". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  32. ^ "Panamanian electoral court bars former president Martinelli's candidacy in May elections". Associated Press. 5 March 2024. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  33. ^ "Melitón Arrocha reafirma apoyo a Martín Torrijos, pero no va renunciar a la candidatura". TVN Noticias (in Spanish). 30 April 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
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  38. ^ "Panama presidential frontrunner vows to shut jungle migrant route". France 24. 17 April 2024. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  39. ^ "Panamanians vote in election dominated by former president who was banned from running". Associated Press. 5 May 2024. Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
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  41. ^ Cruz, Omar De La (30 April 2024). "Melitón Arrocha reafirma apoyo a Martín Torrijos, pero no va renunciar a la candidatura". Tvn Panamá (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 May 2024.
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  44. ^ "General Election 2024, Election of the President". Tribunal Electoral (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  45. ^ a b "TE Presents Final Electoral Census" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 5 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  46. ^ "General Election 2024, Election of Deputies". Tribunal Electoral (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  47. ^ "Mayer Mizrachi desplaza a Fábrega y gana la alcaldía capitalina". www.ecotvpanama.com (in Spanish). 6 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  48. ^ "Mayer Mizrachi, el alcalde electo de la ciudad de Panamá: ¿Quién es y cuáles son sus propuestas?". www.telemetro.com (in Spanish). 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  49. ^ Espinoza, Tereza (6 May 2024). "Elecciones en Panamá: Mayer Mizrachi da la sorpresa y gana la comuna capitalina con el voto popular". Tvn Panamá (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  50. ^ "Irma Hernández, de la coalición Vamos, es la nueva Alcaldesa de San Miguelito". www.ecotvpanama.com (in Spanish). 6 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  51. ^ Espinoza, Tereza (6 May 2024). "El independiente Díogenes Galván conquista la alcaldía de Colón". Tvn Panamá (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  52. ^ "Elecciones en Panamá 2024: Resultados en la Alcaldía de David, provincia de Chiriquí". www.telemetro.com (in Spanish). 7 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  53. ^ "Apretada elección por la alcaldía de Santiago genera tensiones". Tvn Panamá (in Spanish). 6 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  54. ^ Espinoza, Tereza (7 May 2024). "¡Por 2 votos! Eric Jaén, de MOCA, es el nuevo alcalde de Santiago". Tvn Panamá (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 May 2024.
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  58. ^ "Congratulations to Panama's President-Elect Mulino". U.S. Department of State. 6 May 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
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