Panama’s Former Ruling Party Forms Reform Panel, Plans 11 October Sign-Up
PANAMA · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The country Panama elects its president, National Assembly and mayors on one day every five years, next in May 2029. Lawmakers are now rewriting the election rules for that vote.
- —The background The Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) governed Panama from 2019 to 2024. Its president, Benicio Robinson, chairs the Assembly committee that changed the election bill.
- —Why now The party’s secretary-general, Balbina Herrera, objected to one of those changes in a letter. The leadership censured her on 29 September.
- —What happened On Thursday 1 October 2026 the PRD’s national board met for over six hours. It created a commission to set one party line.
- —The numbers 20 of the board’s 26 members had asked to discuss Assembly matters and the reform, Robinson said. The party also called a nationwide drive to sign up new members on 11 October.
- —What it means for you Nothing changes yet. The bill is still waiting for its second debate, and the current election rules apply.
- —Still open When the commission reports, and whether its line differs from the committee text that the Electoral Tribunal has rejected.
Panama’s Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) has set up a commission to agree one line on election reform after a leadership row. Its national board decided this on Thursday 1 October, after more than six hours of talks.
The party also called a nationwide drive to register new members on 11 October. “Let no one confuse debate with division,” its statement said.
What the party decided
The new commission brings together members of the National Board, which is the party’s governing council, and party lawyers. It will review the different changes proposed to the reform bill, according to the broadcaster TVN and the daily Crítica.
Its result will be one PRD position, which the party will then hand to its deputies in the National Assembly. The statement said the differences had been discussed inside the party in an open and respectful way.
The board also made the 11 October registration drive a priority for its local structures. The PRD said the sign-up points are already set, and Crítica reported that the aim is to bring in new members.
TVN said the party tied both decisions to the renewal of its internal bodies, planned for 2027. “Unity is built by talking, taking decisions and working together,” the statement added.
The row behind it
The trigger was a letter. On 28 September Balbina Herrera, the PRD’s secretary-general, wrote to the party’s deputies questioning a change to Bill 699, the election reform.
That change would make each party’s president its legal representative, the person who acts for it formally. In the PRD, TVN noted, that role now belongs to the secretary-general, Herrera’s own post.
A leadership resolution dated 29 September said her letter “does not come from the majority will” and censured her unilateral statements. It also backed the reform proposal under debate in the Assembly.
Robinson, the party president, said disputes should stay inside the party, TVN reported. “What I will not do, even if I am right, is go to the media to talk about a colleague,” he said.
Where the reform stands
The party’s choice matters beyond its own ranks, because Robinson chairs the Assembly’s Government Committee. That committee approved the bill in first debate after changing, removing or adding 46 of its 168 articles.
On the same Thursday, the Electoral Tribunal, Panama’s independent election authority, rejected the committee’s changes as setbacks. It objected to higher donation caps, a rule letting winners keep two posts, and looser resignation rules for would-be candidates.
The second debate in the full Assembly has stalled. La Prensa reported that the tribunal’s magistrates have been summoned to the chamber next week, when the debate is due to start.
What comes next
The commission has no published deadline. Its position will reach the PRD’s deputies before they vote, and the membership drive follows on 11 October.
The decision does not mean the party has dropped the committee’s changes, nor that it has split. It means the leadership wants one voice before the full Assembly decides on rules that will govern the 2029 election.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PRD?
The Democratic Revolutionary Party is a major Panamanian party. It governed from 2019 to 2024 under President Laurentino Cortizo and is led today by Benicio Robinson.
What happens on 11 October?
The PRD plans a nationwide drive to register new members. It says its sign-up points are already set and its local structures will work together that day.
Why did the party censure its secretary-general?
Balbina Herrera wrote to the party’s deputies against a reform that would move legal representation to party presidents. The leadership said her letter did not reflect the majority and that disputes belong inside the party.
Sources: TVN, 1 October 2026; Crítica, 1 October 2026; TVN, 30 September 2026; TVN, 1 October 2026; La Prensa, 1 October 2026. The PRD’s position was issued as a party statement on 1 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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