Panama Electoral Tribunal Rejects Lawmakers’ Changes to 2029 Election Rules

PANAMA · POLITICS

Panama’s Electoral Tribunal has “categorically” rejected the changes lawmakers made to its draft overhaul of the country’s election rules. In a statement on Thursday 1 October, the independent election authority said the changes “represent setbacks for the Panamanian electoral system”.

The dispute is over Bill 699, which rewrites the Electoral Code before the general election of May 2029. It objects above all to higher donation caps, a rule letting winners keep two posts, and looser resignation rules for would-be candidates.

What the tribunal said

The statement was signed by the tribunal’s three magistrates, Narciso Arellano, Luis Guerra and Alfredo Juncá, La Prensa reported. It said the institution “will not support measures that endanger democracy in Panama and the fairness and transparency of the 2029 elections”.

The tribunal said its own draft contained “significant advances for the country”. The changes made in the Assembly’s Government, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Committee, it said, pull in the opposite direction.

It accepted that lawmakers have the constitutional power to “discuss, approve or reject” national laws. But it urged deputies of all blocs to let “prudence and the general interest prevail over the particular”.

The draft carries the recommendations of the National Commission for Electoral Reform, the Panama City daily Crítica explained. That body meets after each general election to update the rules.

The three changes at the centre

The first is money. Today the Electoral Code lets a candidate for deputy receive up to US$300,000 in private donations, and a mayoral candidate US$150,000.

The committee’s version scales the deputies’ cap by district size: US$300,000 up to 30,000 voters, US$400,000 up to 50,000. Above that it reaches US$500,000, two-thirds more than today.

The second is holding two offices. Under current law, a person elected to two posts must choose one within five working days, and a substitute takes the other.

The committee’s text lets that person keep both titles, with one held on unpaid leave of at least a year. It states that no one may exercise two posts at once or draw two salaries.

This is not theoretical: several sitting deputies won two posts in 2024. Former Assembly president Jorge Herrera, for one, was also elected mayor of Aguadulce, where his substitute governs.

The third is resignations: certain officials who want to run must now leave their jobs six months before the election. Under the committee’s text, a minister nominated by a party would resign within five calendar days after the nomination becomes final.

The proposals on double posts and resignations came from two deputies, La Prensa reported. They are committee chair Benicio Robinson of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) and secretary Luis Eduardo Camacho of Realizando Metas.

Why the bill has stalled

The committee changed, removed or added 46 of the bill’s 168 articles. Other changes raise the signatures needed for an independent candidacy from 2% to 3%.

On Wednesday 30 September the full Assembly postponed the second debate. Two deputies of Vamos, a bloc of independents, found that the text sent to the chamber did not match the committee’s.

Camacho replied in writing that there had been “a transcription error” in one article, which was corrected. Some deputies blame the delay on the magistrates, saying they had not come to the chamber, the broadcaster TVN reported.

La Prensa reported that the magistrates have been summoned to the chamber next week, when the second debate is supposed to start. TVN added that the reform is also dividing the leaderships of some political parties.

The donation caps had already drawn criticism from transparency campaigners and business groups. On Thursday the election authority itself joined them.

A familiar clash

Panama has seen this contest before. In October 2021 the tribunal rejected an earlier reform, Bill 544, after its final vote, Panamá América reported.

It said it would ask President Laurentino Cortizo to object to the bill as unconstitutional or inconvenient, and would file court challenges. Each reform cycle tests the same balance between the authority that runs elections and the lawmakers who compete in them.

What comes next

The bill needs a second and a third debate in the full Assembly. President José Raúl Mulino can then sign it or object to it, and the ordinary session ends in about a month.

The statement does not stop the bill, because the tribunal has no veto over the Assembly. Nor does it change any rule today: the current Electoral Code governs until a new law is published.

The direction of travel is still open. The Assembly can restore the tribunal’s draft on the disputed points, keep its own version or seek a compromise.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Panama’s Electoral Tribunal?

It is the independent state body that organises elections, keeps the civil registry and proposes changes to the Electoral Code. It is led by three magistrates.

Which changes does the tribunal reject?

Higher donation caps for candidates for deputy and mayor, and a rule letting a person elected to two posts keep both titles. It also opposes letting would-be candidates stay in office longer.

Can the tribunal block the reform?

No. Only the National Assembly can pass or reject the bill, and the president can then sign it or object to it. The tribunal can urge a veto, as it did in 2021.

When is Panama’s next election?

The next general election is due in May 2029. Panamanians then choose the president, the National Assembly and local officials on the same day.

Sources: TVN, 1 October 2026; La Prensa, 1 October 2026; La Prensa, 1 October 2026; La Prensa, 25 September 2026; La Prensa, 24 September 2026; Crítica, 2 October 2026; Panamá América, 17 October 2021. The tribunal’s position was issued as a public statement on 1 October 2026.