2019 Panamanian general election

General elections were held in Panama on 5 May 2019.^[3] Due to constitutional term limits, incumbent President Juan Carlos Varela was ineligible for a second consecutive term.^[4] Businessman and politician Laurentino Cortizo of the centre-left Democratic Revolutionary Party won the election with around 33% of the vote, narrowly defeating Rómulo Roux of the centre-right Democratic Change, who won 31% of the vote. The PRD also won a majority in the National Assembly.^[5] The ruling Panameñista Party of President Juan Carlos Varela suffered its worst result in history.^[6] Its candidate, Panama City mayor José Isabel Blandón, received only 11% of the vote and came in fourth behind independent candidate Ricardo Lombana.^[5] The party also lost half its seats in the National Assembly.^[6]

2019 Panamanian general election

← 2014 5 May 2019 (2019-05-05) 2024 →
Presidential election
Turnout	73.01% ( 3.75pp)
Candidate Laurentino Cortizo Rómulo Roux Party PRD CD Alliance Joining Forces Change to Wake Up Running mate Jose Gabriel Carrizo Luis Casis Popular vote 655,302 609,003 Percentage 33.35% 31.00%   Candidate Ricardo Lombana José Blandón Party Independent Panameñista Alliance Panama We Can Running mate Guillermo Márquez Nilda Quijano Peña Popular vote 368,962 212,931 Percentage 18.78% 10.84%
Results by province
President before election Juan Carlos Varela Panameñista Elected President Laurentino Cortizo PRD
Legislative election
All 71 seats in the National Assembly 36 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– PRD Benicio Robinson 29.99 35 +9 CD Rómulo Roux 22.45 18 −6 Panameñista José Luis Varela 17.30 8 −8 MOLIRENA Francisco Alemán 5.11 5 +3 Independents – 17.88 5 +4 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results by circuit[1][2]

Background

Incumbent President Juan Carlos Varela was elected in 2014 with 39% of the vote.^[7] Polls showed him to be the second most unpopular president in Latin America by 2018, with a 57% disapproval rating.^[8]

Corruption became a major issue during the campaign,^[9] being the first election held after the Panama Papers leak, which exposed the extent of the country's involvement in tax evasion.^[10] Investigations into mass bribery by the Brazilian company Odebrecht also took place during the preceding presidential term,^[11] with the presidential administrations of Martín Torrijos, Ricardo Martinelli, and Juan Carlos Varela all being subject to scrutiny.^[12] Martinelli was also investigated for wiretapping political opponents,^[13] which resulted in his being disqualified in his campaigns for Assembly deputy and Panama City mayor.^[14]

Electoral system

The President was elected through plurality vote in one round.

Of the 71 members of the National Assembly, 26 were elected in single-member constituencies and 45 by proportional representation in multi-member constituencies. Each district with more than 40,000 inhabitants formed a constituency. Constituencies elected one MP for every 30,000 residents and an additional representative for every fraction over 10,000.^[15]

In single-member constituencies, MPs were elected using the first-past-the-post system. In multi-member constituencies MPs were elected using party list proportional representation according to a double quotient; the first allocation of seats used a simple quotient, further seats were allotted using the quotient divided by two, with any remaining seats are awarded to the parties with the greatest remainder.^[15]

Presidential candidates

The following seven candidates contested the election:^[16]

• Laurentino "Nito" Cortizo – Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD)
• José Isabel Blandón - Panameñista Party
• Rómulo Roux - Cambio Democrático (CD)
• Saúl Méndez - Broad Front for Democracy (FAD)
• Ana Matilde Gómez - Independent
• Marco Ameglio - Independent
• Ricardo Lombana - Independent

Candidate selection

Democratic Revolutionary Party

Nito Cortizo won the PRD's presidential primary, held on 16 September 2023. He defeated Assembly member Zulay Rodríguez and former President Ernesto Pérez Balladares.^[17] The Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement allied itself with the PRD.^[18][19] He selected José Gabriel Carrizo as his running mate.^[20]

Panameñista Party

Panama City mayor José Blandón won the Panameñista primary, beating former Housing Minister Mario Etchelecu.^[21] The People's Party allied itself with the Panameñista Party,^[22] maintaining the alliance that had also been seen in the 2014 elections.^[23] He selected Nilda Quijano as his running mate.^[24]

Democratic Change

Rómulo Roux, a former Canal Minister and Foreign Minister, won the CD presidential primary, defeating José Raúl Mulino,^[25] winning 68% to Mulino's 29%.^[26] He chose reporter Luis Casis as his running mate.^[27]

Alliance Party

The Alliance Party was a new political party led by Assembly member José Muñoz. José Domingo Arias, the losing CD presidential candidate in 2014, won its primary with over 90% of the vote.^[28] The party later chose to ally itself with the CD candidacy of Rómulo Roux,^[29] with Arias declining his presidential candidacy.^[30]

Opinion polls

Pollster	Date	Cortizo (PRD)	Roux (CD)	Lombana (IND)
Gallup Panama[31]	17–21 March 2019	38%	21%	4%
GAD3	29–30 April 2019	36%	26%	20%
Doxa Panamá	23–28 April 2019	30%	32%	15%
Stratmark	22–28 April 2019	44%	27%	10%

Results

President

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
	Laurentino Cortizo	Joining Forces		Democratic Revolutionary Party	609,638	31.03
				Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement	45,664	2.32
			Total		655,302	33.35
	Rómulo Roux	Change to Wake Up		Democratic Change	564,297	28.72
				Alliance Party	44,706	2.28
			Total		609,003	31.00
	Ricardo Lombana	Independent			368,962	18.78
	José Blandón	Panama We Can		Panameñista Party	174,113	8.86
				People's Party	38,818	1.98
			Total		212,931	10.84
	Ana Matilde Gómez	Independent			93,631	4.77
	Saúl Méndez	Broad Front for Democracy			13,540	0.69
	Marco Ameglio	Independent			11,408	0.58
Total					1,964,777	100.00
Valid votes					1,964,777	97.58
Invalid/blank votes					48,656	2.42
Total votes					2,013,433	100.00
Registered voters/turnout					2,757,823	73.01
Source: Election Tribunal

National Assembly

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic Revolutionary Party	542,105	29.99	35	+9
	Democratic Change	405,798	22.45	18	–6
	Panameñista Party	312,635	17.30	8	–8
	Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement	92,340	5.11	5	+3
	People's Party	65,028	3.60	0	–1
	Alliance Party	43,670	2.42	0	–1
	Broad Front for Democracy	22,711	1.26	0	0
	Independents	323,153	17.88	5	+4
Total		1,807,440	100.00	71	0
Valid votes		1,807,440	92.68
Invalid/blank votes		142,663	7.32
Total votes		1,950,103	100.00
Source: Tribunal Electoral

Elected members

Constituency	Member	Party
Circuit 1-1	Benicio Robinson		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Abel Beker		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 2-1	Néstor Guardia		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Daniel Ramos		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 2-2	Melchor Herrera		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 2-3	Luis Ernesto Carles		Panameñista Party
Circuit 2-4	Jorge Herrera		Panameñista Party[a]
Circuit 3-1	Jairo Salazar		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Mariano López		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Leopoldo Benedetti		Democratic Change
	Pedro Torres		Panameñista Party
Circuit 3-2	Nelson Jackson		Democratic Change
Circuit 4-1	Fernando Arce		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Miguel Fanovich		Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement
	Hugo Méndez		Panameñista Party
Circuit 4-2	Everardo Concepción		Panameñista Party
Circuit 4-3	Juan Esquivel		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Rony Araúz		Democratic Change
Circuit 4-4	Gonzalo González		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 4-5	Manolo Ruiz		Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement
Circuit 4-6	Ana Giselle Rosas		Democratic Change
Circuit 5-1	Arnulfo Díaz		Democratic Change
Circuit 5-2	Jaime Vargas		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 6-1	Alejandro Castillero		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 6-2	Julio Mendoza		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 6-3	Marcos Castillero		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 7-1	Eric Broce		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 7-2	Olivares Frías		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 8-1	Kayra Harding		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Marylín Vallarino		Democratic Change
	Yesenia Rodríguez		Panameñista Party
Circuit 8-2	Yanibel Ábrego		Democratic Change
Circuit 8-3	José Herrera		Democratic Change
Circuit 8-4	Roberto Ábrego		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Roberto Ayala		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Lilia Batista		Democratic Change
Circuit 8-5	Hernán Delgado		Democratic Change
Circuit 8-6	Raúl Pineda		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Leandro Ávila		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Zulay Rodríguez		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Pancho Alemán		Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement
	Dalia Bernal		Democratic Change
	Itzi Atencio		Panameñista Party
	Juan Diego Vásquez		Independent
Circuit 8-7	Crispiano Adames		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Héctor Brands		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Corina Cano		Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement
	Sergio "Chello" Gálvez		Democratic Change
	Gabriel Silva		Independent
Circuit 8-8	Javier Sucre		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Victor Castillo		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Mayín Correa		Democratic Change
	Edison Broce		Independent
	Raúl Fernández		Independent
Circuit 8-9	Alina González		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Tito Rodríguez		Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement
	Genésis Arjona		Democratic Change
Circuit 8-10	Edwin Zúñiga		Democratic Change
	Alaín Cedeño		Democratic Change
	Cenobia Vargas		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Elías Vigil		Panameñista Party
Circuit 9-1	Luis Rafael Cruz		Democratic Revolutionary Party
	Fátima Agrazal		Democratic Change
Circuit 9-2	Ariel Alba		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 9-3	Eugenio Bernal		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 9-4	Ricardo Torres		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 10-1	Petita Ayarza		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 10-2	Arquesio Arias		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Circuit 12-1	Leopoldo Archibold		Democratic Change
Circuit 12-2	Adan Bejerano		Independent
Circuit 12-3	Ricardo Santo		Democratic Revolutionary Party
Source: Tribunal Electoral[33][34]

Mayoral elections

Panama City

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
	José Luis Fábrega	Joining Forces		Democratic Revolutionary Party	156,095	37.87
				Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement	19,260	4.67
			Total		175,355	42.55
	Sergio Gálvez	Change to Wake Up		Democratic Change	117,476	28.50
				Alliance Party	11,343	2.75
			Total		128,819	31.25
	Raúl Ricardo Rodriguez	Independent			56,638	13.74
	Adolfo Valderrama	Panama We Can		Panameñista Party	32,962	8.00
				People's Party	10,302	2.50
			Total		43,264	10.50
	Diogenes Sanchez	Broad Front for Democracy			8,081	1.96
Total					412,157	100.00
Valid votes					412,157	94.37
Invalid/blank votes					24,595	5.63
Total votes					436,752	100.00
Source: Election Tribunal

San Miguelito

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
	Hector Carrasquilla	Change to Wake Up		Democratic Change	51,664	33.56
				Alliance Party	5,872	3.81
			Total		57,536	37.38
	Cesar Sanjur	Joining Forces		Democratic Revolutionary Party	36,693	23.84
				Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement	5,456	3.54
			Total		42,149	27.38
	Gerald Cumberbatch	Panama We Can		Independent	12,875	8.36
				Panameñista Party	9,275	6.03
			Total		22,150	14.39
	Jacqueline Hurtado	People's Party			17,810	11.57
	Irving Dominguez	Independent			11,123	7.23
	Gilberto Marulanda	Broad Front for Democracy			3,163	2.05
Total					153,931	100.00
Valid votes					153,931	93.58
Invalid/blank votes					10,558	6.42
Total votes					164,489	100.00
Source: Election Tribunal

Arraiján

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Rollyns Rodriguez	Democratic Revolutionary Party	31,977	28.00
	Belkis Saavedra	Democratic Change	26,934	23.59
	Militza Palma	People's Party	21,969	19.24
	Percival Piggott	Panameñista Party	13,956	12.22
	Maruquel Luque	Independent	7,277	6.37
	Victor Godoy	Independent	4,859	4.26
	Ivan Berrio	Independent	3,412	2.99
	Luis Pimentel	Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement	1,794	1.57
	Denis Amaya	Broad Front for Democracy	1,526	1.34
	Norma Estrada	Alliance Party	489	0.43
Total			114,193	100.00
Valid votes			114,193	94.52
Invalid/blank votes			6,620	5.48
Total votes			120,813	100.00
Source: Election Tribunal

Colón

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
	Alex Lee	Democratic Revolutionary Party			21,826	22.43
	Diogenes Galvan	Independent			20,027	20.58
	Federico Policani	Panama We Can		Panameñista Party	14,519	14.92
				People's Party	4,388	4.51
			Total		18,907	19.43
	Carlos Outten	Democratic Change			15,794	16.23
	Enrique Brooks Galvan	Independent			6,645	6.83
	Felipe Cabeza	Broad Front for Democracy			5,759	5.92
	Cristobal Gondola	Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement			5,460	5.61
	Josefina Smith	Alliance Party			2,893	2.97
Total					97,311	100.00
Valid votes					97,311	93.25
Invalid/blank votes					7,048	6.75
Total votes					104,359	100.00
Source: Election Tribunal

La Chorrera

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
	Tomás Velasquez	Joining Forces		Democratic Revolutionary Party	31,259	33.68
				Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement	3,868	4.17
			Total		35,127	37.85
	Chuin Fa Chong	Alliance Party			24,696	26.61
	Mario Muñoz	Democratic Change			12,962	13.97
	Alberto Barranco	Panama We Can		Panameñista Party	6,746	7.27
				People's Party	2,699	2.91
			Total		9,445	10.18
	Dario Gomez	Independent			9,014	9.71
	Armando Barrios	Broad Front for Democracy			1,573	1.69
Total					92,817	100.00
Valid votes					92,817	92.79
Invalid/blank votes					7,211	7.21
Total votes					100,028	100.00
Source: Election Tribunal

David

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
	Antonio Arauz	Democratic Revolutionary Party			28,132	36.55
	Joaquín De León	Panameñista Party			19,428	25.24
	Karen Caballero	Independent		Democratic Change	8,211	10.67
				Independent	4,060	5.27
			Total		12,271	15.94
	Nicolás Rivera	Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement			6,545	8.50
	Agustín Saldaña	Independent		Independent	3,016	3.92
				People's Party	2,505	3.25
			Total		5,521	7.17
	Amael Acosta	Independent			3,460	4.50
	Néstor Camargo	Alliance Party			945	1.23
	Tomas Armuelles	Broad Front for Democracy			666	0.87
Total					76,968	100.00
Valid votes					76,968	93.09
Invalid/blank votes					5,715	6.91
Total votes					82,683	100.00
Source: Election Tribunal

Santiago

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
	Samid Sandoval	Change to Wake Up		Democratic Change	19,102	35.26
				Alliance Party	1,093	2.02
			Total		20,195	37.28
	Edward Ibarra	Democratic Revolutionary Party			18,809	34.72
	Victor Rodriguez	Panameñista Party			7,245	13.37
	Isaac Rodriguez	Independent			4,233	7.81
	Horacio Freeman	Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement			1,777	3.28
	Edilso Vega	Independent			1,220	2.25
	Santiago Murillo	Independent			460	0.85
	Edgardo Abrego	Broad Front for Democracy			237	0.44
Total					54,176	100.00
Valid votes					54,176	93.81
Invalid/blank votes					3,575	6.19
Total votes					57,751	100.00
Source: Election Tribunal

Notes

1. Herrera was elected but his term was served by his alternate.^[32]