1994 Panamanian general election explained

Country:Panama
Previous Election:1989 Panamanian general election
Previous Year:1989
Next Election:1999 Panamanian general election
Next Year:1999
Election Date:8 May 1994
Module:
Embed:yes
Election Name:Presidential election
Type:presidential
Image1:Mr. Ernesto Perez Balladares (cropped).jpg
Nominee1:Ernesto Pérez Balladares
Running Mate1:Tomas Altamirano Duque
Party1:Democratic Revolutionary Party
Popular Vote1:355,307
Percentage1:33.30%
Nominee2:Mireya Moscoso
Running Mate2:Dominador Baldomero Bazán
Party2:Arnulfista
Popular Vote2:310,372
Percentage2:29.09%
Image4:Ruben Blades by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Nominee4:Rubén Blades
Running Mate4:Fernando Manfredo
Popular Vote4:182,405
Percentage4:17.10%
Nominee5:Rubén Darío Carles
Running Mate5:Guillermo Quijano
Party5:MOLIRENA
Popular Vote5:171,192
Percentage5:16.05%
President
Before Election:Guillermo Endara
Before Party:Panameñista Party
After Election:Ernesto Pérez Balladares
After Party:Democratic Revolutionary Party

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

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. 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

National Assembly

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Panama Journal; Democracy at Work, Under Shadow of Dictators . Howard W. French . February 21, 1994 . The New York Times . August 8, 2014 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140808184548/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/21/world/panama-journal-democracy-at-work-under-shadow-of-dictators.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm . September 2, 2012.
  2. News: Panamanians Vote in Peace, Picking Ex-Aide of Noriega; Millionaire Perez Balladares Bests Widow of Four-Time President . Douglas Farah . May 9, 1994 . The Washington Post . March 29, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150329104016/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-889827.html . dead . September 2, 2012.
  3. Web site: Panama . University of Missouri-Saint Louis . October 23, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121023195301/http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact98/193.htm . September 2, 2012.
  4. Falcoff, Mark. The 1994 Panamanian elections: post-election report. Washington: CSIS Americas Program. 1994. Pp. 1.