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### Viewing cable 04PANAMA886, PANAMA's MAY 2 ELECTORAL PROCESS: NUTS AND BOLTS

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
04PANAMA886 | 2004-04-16 14:51 | 2011-05-29 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Panama

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PANAMA 000886

    SIPDIS

    SENSITIVE

    DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND OPS CENTER

    E.O. 12958:N/A
    TAGS: PGOV PREL PM POL SPECIALIST
    SUBJECT: PANAMA's MAY 2 ELECTORAL PROCESS: NUTS AND BOLTS

    SUMMARY: General Elections
    --------------------------
    ¶1.  (U) Panama will hold general elections on Sunday, May 2
    to elect a total of 1,756 new officials for five-year
    terms.  Voters will elect a President, two Vice Presidents,
    78 legislators (and 156 alternates), 75 mayors (and 150
    alternates), 619 local representatives, 7 councilmen, 20
    representatives to the Central American Parliament
    (PARLACEN) (and 20 alternates).  Voting will start promptly
    at 7:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m.  Electoral officials have
    announced that preliminary national voting results should
    be available around 7:00 p.m. on May 2 (8:00 p.m.
    Washington time).  Up to 1,999,553 registered voters will
    vote at Panama's 2,193 voting centers throughout the
    country.  Up to 1,900 national and international observers,
    including 25-30 from the OAS, will be watching the polls on
    May 2.

    ¶2.  (U) Panama has no mandatory voting law, no electronic
    voting, and no absentee voting.  Panama holds General
    Elections every five years on the first Sunday in May.  The
    President-elect is inaugurated and the Legislative Assembly
    holds its first session on September 1, 2004.  End Summary.

    Voters and Registration
    -----------------------
    ¶3.  (U) Panamanian law stipulates that all adult (at least
    18 years-old) citizens of Panama may register to vote,
    provided they are within Panamanian territory and not
    detained, in jail awaiting trial or convicted.  Panama's
    electoral code does not allow absentee voting for
    Panamanians residing overseas.  Although voting is not
    mandatory in Panama, voter turnouts have been high in
    Panama's previous two general elections.  In 1994, 73.7% of
    registered Panamanians voted; in 1999, 76.2% voted.  Over
    55% of Panama's registered voters are between the ages of
    18 and 40.

    ¶4.  (U) The Electoral Tribunal (ET) publishes the official
    and final electoral registry ("padron electoral") after
    purging duplicate records through careful review and
    computer proofreading.  Registry entries include every
    voter's: (i) complete name, (ii) personal identification
    number (cedula), (iii) voting center (based on residence),
    and (iv) digital photo.  The final electoral registry for
    Panama's May 2004 elections contains 1,999,553 registered
    voters.  The ET has provided every political party a copy
    of the final list to maintain the transparency of the
    registration process.

    Administrative divisions
    ------------------------
    ¶5.  (U) Panama is divided in nine provinces and seven
    indigenous reservations, which in turn are divided in 43
    electoral districts.  Each district elects a mayor, and,
    depending on population, between one and seven legislators.
    There are 78 total seats at stake in Panama's May 2, 2004
    elections for its unicameral Legislative Assembly.
    Municipal Councils in each district include the mayor and
    local elected representatives.

    ¶6.  (U) Residents of each "corregimiento" (group of
    neighborhoods) elect their local representative, known as
    the "representante de corregimiento."  Representing the
    smallest administrative division, there are a total of 619
    corregimientos in Panama, each with a separate
    representative.  Representantes de corregimiento are
    vestiges of Panama's political system under dictator Omar
    Torrijos.  Torrijos abolished the Legislative Assembly,
    forming an Assembly of Local Representatives (ALR) in its
    stead.  Since the ALR no longer exists, Panamanian
    political analysts have called for eliminating the local
    representative position.

    Political parties
    -----------------
    ¶7.  (U) Panama has seven legally registered political
    parties:  Partido Revolucionario Democratico (PRD), Partido
    Popular (PP), Movimiento Liberal Republicano Nacionalista
    (MOLIRENA), Partido Arnulfista (PA), Partido Solidaridad
    (PS), Partido Liberal Nacional (PLN) and Cambio Democratico
    (CD).  To obtain Electoral Tribunal recognition, a party
    must register members totaling at least 4% of the number of
    votes cast for President during the most recent election.
    To survive a general election, an existing party must win
    at least 4% of the votes cast in presidential, legislative,
    or local representative balloting.  All political parties
    must have a name, internal by-laws, government platform and
    a distinctive symbol (a flag).  Panama's electoral law
    prohibits religious symbolism in political party flags.

    Official Nominations
    --------------------
    ¶8.  (U) Parties choose their candidates during primaries or
    a National Congress, Assembly or Convention, as stipulated
    by their internal by-laws.  If a candidate dies or resigns,
    his/her first alternate automatically occupies the vacant
    candidacy.  The opposition PRD was the only party that held
    primaries to select its candidates.  The other six parties
    elected or nominated their candidates through a national
    congress or convention.

    ¶9.  (U) After the Electoral Tribunal closed the official
    voter registry on December 31, 2003, Panama's electoral
    process officially began with political parties officially
    notifying ET of the candidates that they had nominated
    between January 2 and February 2, 2004.  The process will
    end when the ET issues official electoral credentials to
    the winners.  During the electoral process, the ET
    publishes an official electoral calendar by which all
    political parties and independent candidates must abide.
    Panama's electoral law states that only political parties
    can nominate candidates for President or Legislator.
    Independent candidates can run for mayoral and local
    representative seats.

    Electoral calendar
    ------------------
    ¶10.  (U) Panama's official electoral calendar consists of
    the following milestones:

    ---Oct. 15: Deadline for minors turning 18 years old before
    May 2 to renew their "cedulas" at the Electoral Tribunal.
    ---Oct. 30: Publication of tentative electoral registry
    ("padron electoral")
    ---Nov. 1-Nov 30: Term for political parties to challenge
    additions to the electoral registry
    ---Nov. 1: Deadline for appointed GOP officials (cabinet-
    level and above) who will run for elected positions to
    leave their current jobs.
    ---Dec 2: ET Officially convokes 2004 elections and swears-
    in National Vote-Counting Board
    ---Dec 2-Feb 2: Independent candidates register.
    ---Dec 2-Feb 7: Period to challenge independent
    candidacies.
    ---Dec 31: Deadline for Electoral Tribunal to reconcile
    electoral registry (e.g. removal of new prison inmates,
    latest death reports, etc.)
    ---January 2: Official initiation of electoral process
    ---Jan 2-Feb 2: Formal written nominations of candidates
    ---Feb 1: Deadline for political parties to formally inform
    the ET that they intend to participate in the electoral
    process
    ---Feb 2: ET Publishes final electoral registry ("padron
    electoral") and delivers it to political parties
    ---April 22: Last day to publish public opinion polls.
    ---April 26: ET officially takes control of Panamanian
    National Police (PNP).  Control reverts to Ministry of
    Government & Justice once the ET officially proclaims the
    new President in a ceremony a few days after election day
    ---April 30: Last day for any kind of political campaigning
    and/or advertising.  Last day for political talk shows to
    air on state-owned TV.
    ---May 1-3: All bars, clubs, cantinas, and liquor stores
    are closed.  Sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited.
    ---May 2: Election Day
       -6:00 a.m. Voting centers set up
       -7:00 a.m. Voting centers opened
       -4:00 p.m. Voting ends and counting begins
       -7:00 p.m. Exit poll results may be broadcast

    Observers
    ---------
    ¶11.  (U) Close to 1,900 national and international
    observers will be visiting voting centers and counting
    boards on May 2.  The largest group will be Panama's
    Catholic Church NGO Comision de Justicia y Paz, which will
    have 1,500 observers throughout the country.  Panama's
    Ombudsman Office is coordinating the participation of close
    to 300 local observers and will host approximately 15 Latin
    American Ombudsmen who will also observe the elections. The
    Organization of American States (OAS), with USG financial
    support, will send a delegation of 25-27 VIPs.  Foreign
    diplomats resident in Panama will also cover polling, but
    their presence will be limited.  Embassy Panama will deploy
    approximately 30 observers to 12 different locations, 6 in
    metro Panama, and 6 outside the capital.

    Voting
    ------
    ¶12.  (U) Voting day procedures are well choreographed.
    After identifying themselves with personal ID cards
    (cedulas), Panamanians who vote on May 2 will each receive
    four ballots: one for President, one for legislator, one
    for mayor, and one for local representative.  The ET is
    preparing 5,105 voting tables ("mesas de votacion"),
    located in 2,193 voting centers (usually public schools).
    Up to 500 voters will be registered at each table.  Voting
    starts promptly at 7:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m. sharp,
    after which counting at each table immediately begins.
    Accompanied by representatives designated by each political
    party, electoral officials painstakingly review ballots one
    by one, calling out votes for each elected position.

    Vote Counting
    -------------
    ¶13.  (U) Once counting has finished (about 1-1.5 hours
    after voting ends), volunteer electoral officials at each
    "table" enter results on a tally sheet (acta), spelling out
    figures to avoid confusion.  Then, electoral officials and
    party representatives sign the tally sheet.  Tally sheets
    are essential because there are no recounts in Panama.
    Once the tally sheet is completed and signed, electoral
    representatives burn the ballots while party
    representatives observe.  The electoral representatives
    then take the tally sheet directly to the District Counting
    Board for computing after giving a copy to each party
    representative.  District Counting Boards pass their
    results to their respective Provincial Counting Boards,
    which in turn transmit their results to the National
    Counting Board ("Junta Nacional de Escrutinio"), located by
    law in Panama City.  (NOTE: Counting Board Members are
    usually CPAs and other professionals who have volunteered
    their services and received training and credentials from
    the ET. END NOTE.)

    Poll Results
    ------------
    ¶14.  (U) Despite the laborious counting process, voting
    results will be quickly disseminated including the
    Electoral Tribunal website (www.tribunal-electoral.gob.pa).
    Electoral officials have announced that preliminary
    national voting results should be available around 7:00
    p.m. on May 2 (8:00 p.m. Washington time).  Rather than
    waiting to announce definitive results, electoral officials
    plan to broadcast results as they become available.

    Security, sobriety, and ad-ban
    ------------------------------
    ¶15.  (U) Panama's Electoral Code dictates that the ET
    controls the National Police on Election Day.  Only on-duty
    policemen are authorized to carry weapons on Election Day.
    All political advertising and campaigning is prohibited
    after noon on April 30.  Alcohol sales and consumption must
    cease between noon on May 1 and noon on May 3.  On Election
    Day, while voters may wear hats or t-shirts with political
    symbols, distributing political propaganda is forbidden
    inside voting centers.

    MCMULLEN

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