1994 Panamanian general election

Last updated

1994 Panamanian general election
Flag of Panama.svg
  1989 8 May 1994 1999  
Presidential election
Turnout73.67% (Increase2.svg 13.19pp)
  Mr. Ernesto Perez Balladares (cropped).jpg Mireya Moscoso in 2012.jpg
Nominee Ernesto Pérez Balladares Mireya Moscoso
Party PRD Arnulfista
Running mate Tomas Altamirano Duque Dominador Baldomero Bazán
Popular vote355,307310,372
Percentage33.30%29.09%

  Ruben Blades by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Nominee Rubén Blades Rubén Darío Carles
Party MPE  [ es ] MOLIRENA
Running mateFernando ManfredoGuillermo Quijano
Popular vote182,405171,192
Percentage17.10%16.05%

President before election

Guillermo Endara
Panameñista

Elected President

Ernesto Pérez Balladares
PRD

General elections were held in Panama on 8 May 1994, electing both a new President of the Republic and a new Legislative Assembly.

Contents

Ernesto Pérez Balladares stood as a candidate for the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), opposing Mireya Moscoso of the Arnulfista Party and the salsa singer Rubén Blades, who was then president of the party Papa Egoro. In the 1989 general election, Pérez Balladares had served as the campaign manager for Carlos Duque, the hand-picked candidate of military ruler Manuel Noriega, and his 1994 opponents sought to emphasize his connection with Noriega, broadcasting pictures of the two together. [1] Pérez Balladares denied the link, describing the current PRD as "diametrically opposed" to Noriega's policies. [2] Instead, he worked to position himself as a successor to Torrijos, who was regarded as a national hero. The incumbent Arnulfista Party, meanwhile, was seen as hobbled by dissatisfaction with the perceived incompetence and corruption of Endara's government. [2] He ultimately won the election with 33% of the vote, with Moscoso receiving 29% and Blades receiving 17%. [3]

The PRD "also achieved an effective majority in the new National Assembly. The big surprise was not the victory of the PRD, but the nearly successful challenge of Mireya Moscoso de Gruber, the candidate of the Arnulfista Party". [4]

Results

President

CandidateParty or allianceVotes%
Ernesto Pérez Balladares United People Alliance Democratic Revolutionary Party 326,09530.57
Labor and Agrarian Party 17,0461.60
Republican Liberal Party 12,1661.14
Total355,30733.30
Mireya Moscoso Democratic Alliance Arnulfista Party 211,78019.85
Liberal Party 46,7754.38
Authentic Liberal Party 43,7974.11
Independent Democrat Union 8,0200.75
Total310,37229.09
Rubén Blades Mother Earth Movement  [ es ]182,40517.10
Rubén Dario Carles Alliance for Change '94 Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement 115,47810.82
National Renewal Movement 32,1223.01
Civic Renewal Party 23,5922.21
Total171,19216.05
Eduardo Vallarino Christian Democratic Party 25,4762.39
Samuel Lewis Galindo National Concertation Solidarity Party 9,3040.87
National Unity Mission Party 9,1200.85
Total18,4241.73
José Salvador Muñoz Doctrinaire Panameñista Party3,6680.34
Total1,066,844100.00
Valid votes1,066,84496.58
Invalid/blank votes37,7343.42
Total votes1,104,578100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,499,45173.67
Source: Nohlen [5] [6]

National Assembly

Party or allianceVotes%Seats
United People Alliance Democratic Revolutionary Party 236,31922.8630
Labor and Agrarian Party 28,1722.731
Republican Liberal Party 24,9792.422
Total289,47028.0133
Democratic Alliance Arnulfista Party 150,21714.5314
Liberal Party 35,5163.442
Authentic Liberal Party 31,0453.002
Independent Democrat Union 13,1061.271
Total229,88422.2419
Alliance for Change '94 Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement 116,83311.305
National Renewal Movement 68,5816.641
Civic Renewal Party 57,5905.573
Total243,00423.519
Mother Earth Movement  [ es ]99,7609.656
National Concertation Solidarity Party 67,3066.514
National Unity Mission Party 27,0172.610
Total94,3239.134
Christian Democratic Party 66,4116.431
Doctrinaire Panameñista Party10,7201.040
Total1,033,572100.0072
Valid votes1,033,57294.67
Invalid/blank votes58,1845.33
Total votes1,091,756100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,499,45172.81
Source: Nohlen [7]

References

  1. Howard W. French (February 21, 1994). "Panama Journal; Democracy at Work, Under Shadow of Dictators". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  2. 1 2 Douglas Farah (May 9, 1994). "Panamanians Vote in Peace, Picking Ex-Aide of Noriega; Millionaire Perez Balladares Bests Widow of Four-Time President". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  3. "Panama". University of Missouri-Saint Louis. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
  4. Falcoff, Mark. The 1994 Panamanian elections: post-election report. Washington: CSIS Americas Program. 1994. Pp. 1.
  5. Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.534.
  6. "VOTOS OBTENIDOS PARA CANDIDATOS POR ALIANZA Y PARTIDO POLITICO EN LA REPUBLICA, SEGUN PROVINCIA, COMARCA Y CIRCUITO ELECTORAL: ELECCIONES POPULARES PARA PRESIDENTE, DEL 8 DE MAYO DE 1994" (PDF). Electoral Tribunal. 8 May 1994.
  7. Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.] : Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.528.