1960 Panamanian general election

General elections were held in Panama on 20 May 1960, electing both a new President of the Republic and a new National Assembly.

According to Jan Knippers Black and Edmundo Flores, "Ernesto de la Guardia's administration had been overwhelmed by the rioting and other problems, and the National Patriotic Coalition, lacking effective opposition in the National Assembly, began to disintegrate. Most dissenting factions joined the National Liberal Party in the National Opposition Union." ^[1]

The 1960 election was without precedent in Panama. For once the usual charges of illegal intervention by the National Guard were absent, and the opposition Liberal coalition candidate, Roberto Francisco Chiari Remón, was declared the winner and installed in office in an unexpectedly peaceful transfer of power. ^[2]

Results

President

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
	Roberto Francisco Chiari Remón	National Opposition Union		National Liberal Party	42,394	17.56
				Republican Party	26,073	10.80
				Third Nationalist Party	16,068	6.65
				National Liberation Movement	15,507	6.42
			Total		100,042	41.43
	Ricardo Arias	National Patriotic Coalition			85,981	35.61
	Víctor Florencio Goytía	Popular Alliance		Liberal Civic Resistance Party	29,031	12.02
				National Progressive Party	9,785	4.05
				DIPAL Party	8,635	3.58
				Renewal Party	8,004	3.31
			Total		55,455	22.96
Total					241,478	100.00
Valid votes					241,478	93.58
Invalid/blank votes					16,561	6.42
Total votes					258,039	100.00
Registered voters/turnout					435,454	59.26
Source: Nohlen [3]

National Assembly

Party or alliance				Seats
	National Opposition Union		National Liberal Party	8
			Republican Party	9
			Third Nationalist Party	7
			National Liberation Movement	4
		Total		28
	National Patriotic Coalition			18
	Popular Alliance		Liberal Civic Resistance Party	3
			National Progressive Party	2
			DIPAL Party	1
			Renewal Party	1
		Total		7
Total				53
Source: Nohlen [4]

References

1. Black, Jan Knippers and Edmundo Flores. "Historical setting." Meditz, Sandra W. 1989. Panama: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Rederal Research Division, Library of Congress. Pp. 37.
2. Institute for the Comparative Study of Political Systems. Panama: election factbook, May 12, 1968. Washington: Institute for the Comparative Study of Political Systems. 1968. Pp. 10.
3. Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.532.
4. Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.] : Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.529.