General elections were held in Panama on Sunday, 2 May 2004, electing both a new President of the Republic and a new Legislative Assembly.
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Presidential election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 76.88% ( 0.71pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results
editPresident
editFor the second consecutive election, Martín Torrijos, son of former military ruler Omar Torrijos, was named the candidate of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD); in 1999, he had lost to Mireya Moscoso. Torrijos ran on a platform of strengthening democracy and negotiating a free trade agreement with the US, and was supported by popular musician and politician Rubén Blades;[1] Torrijos later made Blades the nation's tourism minister.[2] Torrijos' primary rival was Guillermo Endara, who had served as president from 1990 to 1994. Endara ran as the candidate of the Solidarity Party, on a platform of reducing crime and government corruption.[3] Endara and the other candidates also ran a series of negative ads highlighting the PRD's connections with former military ruler Manuel Noriega.[4] Endara finished second in the race, receiving 31% of the vote to Torrijos' 47%.[1]
Torrijos assumed office on 1 September 2004. Voters also elected his two vice-presidents, who run on party tickets in conjunction with the presidential candidates.
| Candidate | Party or alliance | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martín Torrijos | New Fatherland | Democratic Revolutionary Party | 649,157 | 43.30 | ||
| People's Party | 62,007 | 4.14 | ||||
| Total | 711,164 | 47.44 | ||||
| Guillermo Endara | Solidarity Party | 462,824 | 30.87 | |||
| José Miguel Alemán | Vision of the Country | Arnulfista Party | 162,830 | 10.86 | ||
| Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement | 60,106 | 4.01 | ||||
| National Liberal Party | 22,632 | 1.51 | ||||
| Total | 245,568 | 16.38 | ||||
| Ricardo Martinelli | Democratic Change | 79,491 | 5.30 | |||
| Total | 1,499,047 | 100.00 | ||||
| Valid votes | 1,499,047 | 97.51 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 38,295 | 2.49 | ||||
| Total votes | 1,537,342 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,999,553 | 76.88 | ||||
| Source: Nohlen[5] | ||||||
Legislative Assembly
editIn addition to its president and vice presidents, Panama elected a new Legislative Assembly (78 members), 20 deputies to represent the country at the Central American Parliament, and a string of mayors and other municipal officers.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party or alliance | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| New Fatherland | Democratic Revolutionary Party | 549,948 | 37.85 | 41 | ||
| People's Party | 86,727 | 5.97 | 1 | |||
| Total | 636,675 | 43.82 | 42 | |||
| Vision of the Country | Arnulfista Party | 279,560 | 19.24 | 17 | ||
| Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement | 125,547 | 8.64 | 4 | |||
| National Liberal Party | 76,191 | 5.24 | 3 | |||
| Total | 481,298 | 33.12 | 24 | |||
| Solidarity Party | 227,604 | 15.66 | 9 | |||
| Democratic Change | 107,511 | 7.40 | 3 | |||
| Total | 1,453,088 | 100.00 | 78 | |||
| Valid votes | 1,453,088 | 95.29 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 71,888 | 4.71 | ||||
| Total votes | 1,524,976 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,999,553 | 76.27 | ||||
| Source: Nohlen[6] | ||||||
The Panama City mayor race was won also by the PRD. Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro was re-elected.
References
edit- ^ a b "Not his father's son? Panama's new president.(Martin Torrijos)". The Economist. May 8, 2004. Archived from the original on September 28, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ "Nicky Hilton Weds One Hilton ..." The Washington Post. August 16, 2004. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
- ^ Mark Stevenson (May 2, 2004). "Guillermo Endara, former president of Panama, fights against corruption, crime". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 23, 2014. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
- ^ Mary Jordan (May 2, 2004). "General's Son Leads in Panama; Running as a Pro-Capitalist Nationalist, Torrijos Emerges as Favorite in Polls". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
- ^ Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.535.
- ^ Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.] : Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.528.
External links
edit- Official Results (Panamanian Electoral Tribunal)
- Panama elects ex-dictator's son (BBC)
- First election since Canal handover (The Guardian)