At Stake in this Election:

• The office of President of Panama

Government Structure:

• Chief of State: President Juan Carlos VARELA*
• Head of Government: President Juan Carlos VARELA*
• Assembly: Panama has a unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) with 71 seats.

* Current President Juan Carlos VARELA is ineligible for reelection.

Electoral System:

• The President is elected by simple majority vote to serve a 5-year term. Presidents are limited to two non-consecutive 5-year terms.

Main Candidates in this Election:

• Laurentino CORTIZO
  • Party: Democratic Revolutionary Party / Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD)
• José BLANDÓN
  • Party: Panemeñista Party / Partido Panameñista (PP)
• Rómulo ROUX
  • Party: Democratic Change / Cambio Democrático (CD)*
• Saúl MÉNDEZ RODRÍGUEZ
  • Party: Broad Front for Democracy / Frente Amplio por la Democracia (FAD)
• Ana Matilde GÓMEZ
  • Independent
• Marco AMEGLIO
  • Independent
• Ricardo LOMBANA
  • Independent

Population and Voter Registration:

• Population: 4,226,197 (2019 est.)
• Eligible Voters: 2,757,823

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 2,109,750 (2019 est.)
• 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: 13 (following the 2014 elections)
• Human Development Index Position: 66 (2018)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A (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: 584,554 (est.) Persons with disabilities registered to vote in this election 29,644 persons (15,310 women and 14,334 men).