At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Panama

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino *
• Head of Government: President Martin TORRIJOS Espino
• Assembly: Panama has a unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) with 78 seats.

* The president is both the chief of state and head of government.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by simple majority vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional), 45 members are elected by open list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 26 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.***

*** Seat allocation in the MMDs is in three stages. First, the total valid poll in any district is divided by the number of seats in that district. The result is the "electoral quotient." The number of votes for each party is divided by the electoral quotient, and the result is the number of seats in the district to which each party is entitled. Second, any remaining seats in the district are allocated to parties that have received at least one half an electoral quotient, but not a full electoral quotient, in descending order from largest to smallest vote share. Third, any remaining seats in the district are allocated to individual candidates in descending order from largest to smallest personal vote share.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Ricardo MARTINELLI
  • Party: Democratic Change / Cambio Democrático (CD)
• Guillermo ENDARA
  • Party: Fatherland's Moral Vanguard / Vanguardia Moral de la Patria (VMP)
• Balbina HERRERA
  • Party: Democratic Revolutionary Party / Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,559,401 (2009)
• Registered Voters: 2,211,261 (May 2009)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,770,832 (2009)

·         Is Panama a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (26 June 1980)

·         Has Panama ratified CEDAW: Yes (29 October 1981)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 6 (following the 2009 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 60 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Panama a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Panama ratified CRPD: Yes (7 August 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 533,910 (est.)