General elections were held in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

on May 3, 2009.

Presidential race

Balbina Herrera was the

Democratic Revolutionary Party The Democratic Revolutionary Party (, PRD) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left political party in Panama founded in 1979 by General Omar Torrijos. To date, it has been the party of four Panamian presidents: Nicolás Ardito Barletta Vallarino ( ...

(PRD) candidate for

President of Panama This article lists the heads of state of Panama since the short-lived first independence from the Republic of New Granada in 1840 and the final Separation of Panama from Colombia, separation from Colombia in 1903. Since 1904 the head of state of ...

. She had previously served as President of the National Assembly during the Mireya Moscoso presidency, and Housing Minister under outgoing president Martin Torrijos. Herrera won her party's primary on September 7, 2008, defeating

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro with a ten-point lead. The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and the People's Party were in alliance with the PRD in support of Herrera. Herrera was also endorsed by

Ruben Blades Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on th ...

, a popular salsa musician who had previously run for president and served as Torrijos' Minister of Tourism, and was initially considered the favorite for the presidency. If elected, she would have become Panama's second female president.

Ricardo Martinelli Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal (born 11 March 1951) is a Panamanian politician and businessman who served as the 36th President of Panama from 2009 to 2014. In 2024, Martinelli was sentenced to ten years in prison for embezzlement of pu ...

was the candidate of the opposition Democratic Change, also supported by the Patriotic Union Party, the

Panameñista Party The Panameñista Party is a nationalist political party in Panama. It was the third largest party by number of adherents with 256,138 members (as of February 2016). Founding and early history The party is the oldest continuously operating pa ...

and the Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement. Martinelli was a successful businessman, and was the chairman of the board of Panama's Super 99 supermarket chain.
English Translation
During the presidency of Ernesto Pérez Balladares, Martinelli had served as Director of

Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...

from 1994 to 1996. From September 1999 to January 2003, he had served in the Moscoso Administration as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

and as the Minister for Canal Affairs.

Guillermo Endara Guillermo David Endara Galimany (May 12, 1936 – September 28, 2009) was a Panamanian politician who served as the president of Panama from 1989 to 1994. Raised in a family allied to Panameñista Party founder Arnulfo Arias, Endara attend ...

, former Panamanian president from 1989 to 1994, ran as the candidate for the Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party. Though initially the favorite, Herrera was damaged in the election by her links to former military ruler

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno ( , ; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially serv ...

and by the perception that she was a "Chavista", a supporter of leftist Venezuelan president

Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Hugo (film), ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise ...

. Martinelli was also helped by strong support from the business community and his campaign promise of "real change" resonated among poor voters. On May 3, 2009, Martinelli won the national elections by a landslide, with over 60% of the votes compared to Herrera, who received about 36%. Former president

finished a distant third. Martinelli was declared the winner after 43.68% of the votes had been counted. This was the second-largest majority in Panamanian history, and the largest since

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. It was also the first time since 1989 that the winning candidate was not a member of the PRD or Panameñista Party. Martinelli's victory was an exception to a trend of victories for left-leaning Latin American candidates. He was sworn in on July 1, 2009.

Results

President

Legislative Assembly

References

External links

Official presidential results
{{Panamanian elections

General election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

Elections in Panama Presidential elections in Panama May 2009 in North America