Jump to content

1984 Panamanian general election

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Number 57 (talk | contribs) at 00:56, 11 May 2024 (Consistent date format, use module). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

1984 Panamanian general election
6 May 1984
Presidential election
← 1978
1989 →
 
Nominee Nicolás Ardito Barletta Arnulfo Arias Madrid
Party PRD MOLIRENA
Running mate Eric Arturo Delvalle Mireya Moscoso-Arias
Popular vote 300,748 299,035
Percentage 46.98% 46.71%
President before election

Jorge Illueca
Independent

Elected President

Nicolás Ardito Barletta
PRD

General elections were held in Panama on 6 May 1984, electing both a new President of the Republic and a new Legislative Assembly.

Background

Under October 1978 legislation, eight parties had met quotas of 30,000 valid signatures by 1 April 1983, in order to legally nominate candidates in future elections.[1]

On 24 April 1983 the electorate overwhelmingly approved a number of amendments to the 1972 constitution in a referendum. Among the changes were the replacement of the existing 505-member National Assembly of Municipal Representatives by a national legislature of 70 members, and empowering this body to appoint high-ranking government officials, which had been the responsibility of the President.[2]

In August 1983 a new law created an Electoral Tribunal consisting of one each member appointed by the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The tribunal was given ultimate authority to interpret and implement electoral rules. A national vote-counting board was formed to process election returns and report to the Electoral Tribunal.[3]

General Paredes, in keeping with the new constitutional provision that no active Guard member could participate in an election, reluctantly retired from the Guard on 12 August 1983. He was succeeded immediately by Noriega, who was promoted to brigadier general. During the same month, Paredes was nominated as the PRD candidate for president. National elections were only five months away, and Paredes appeared to be the leading presidential contender. Nevertheless, in early September, President de la Espriella purged his cabinet of Paredes loyalists, and Noriega declared that he would not publicly support any candidate for president. These events convinced Paredes that he had no official government or military backing for his candidacy. He withdrew from the presidential race on 6 September 1983, less than a month after retiring from the Guard. Although Paredes subsequently gained the support of the Popular Nationalist Party (PNP) and was able to appear on the 1984 ballot, he was no longer a major presidential contender. Constitutional reforms notwithstanding, the reality of Panamanian politics dictated that no candidate could become president without the backing of the National Guard and, especially, its commander.[4]

President Ricardo de la Espriella resigned on 13 February 1984 and his vice-president Jorge Illueca assumed the presidency. The resignation of President and his cabinet was barely noticed during the intense election campaign. De la Espriella was forced out by Noriega, having "opposed the military's manipulation of the election and strongly advocated free elections for 1984".[5]

Campaign

The two primary candidates in the presidential race were opposition candidate Arnulfo Arias and Noriega's selection, Ardito Barletta. Due to the near total media control of Noriega's Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD), the only media outlet to endorse Arias was the independent newspaper La Prensa.[6]

The American Institute for Free Labor Development and the National Endowment for Democracy provided around $20,000 in support of activists involved with Ardito Barletta's campaign, despite opposition from certain U.S. legislators such as Representative Hank Brown and Senator Edward Zorinsky, alongside Ambassador Everett Ellis Briggs.[7][8]

Results

Counting of votes was stopped early, then suspended on 9 May. On 12 May Barletta had 319,671 votes and Arias had 314,714. On 16 May the Tribunal said that Barletta had won by 1,713 votes.[9] According to political scientist Margaret Scranton, the process "looked suspicious" as "the announcement came ten days after the election, and one of the three members of the Tribunal abstained".[9]

President

CandidateParty or allianceVotes%
Nicolás Ardito BarlettaNational Democratic UnionDemocratic Revolutionary Party175,72227.45
Labor and Agrarian Party45,3847.09
Republican Party34,2155.34
Liberal Party28,5684.46
Panameñista Party11,5791.81
Broad Popular Front5,2800.82
Total300,74846.98
Arnulfo Arias MadridDemocratic Opposition AllianceAuthentic Panameñista Party221,33534.57
Christian Democratic Party46,9637.34
Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement30,7374.80
Total299,03546.71
Rubén Darío ParedesPopular Nationalist Party15,9762.50
Carlos Iván ZúñigaPopular Action Party13,7822.15
Carlos Del CidPeople's Party of Panama4,5980.72
José Renán EsquivelWorkers' Revolutionary Party3,9690.62
Ricardo BarríaSocialist Workers' Party2,0850.33
Total640,193100.00
Valid votes640,19395.40
Invalid/blank votes30,8974.60
Total votes671,090100.00
Registered voters/turnout917,67773.13
Source: Nohlen[10]

National Assembly

Party or allianceVotes%Seats
National Democratic UnionDemocratic Revolutionary Party153,18225.1434
Labor and Agrarian Party74,43012.217
Republican Party51,1038.393
Liberal Party36,0405.911
Panameñista Party8,0631.320
Broad Popular Front7,8131.280
Total330,63154.2645
Democratic Opposition AllianceAuthentic Panameñista Party124,56220.4413
Christian Democratic Party69,99811.496
Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement50,9368.363
Total245,49640.2922
Popular Nationalist Party12,5962.070
Popular Action Party8,4711.390
People's Party of Panama7,3151.200
Workers' Revolutionary Party3,5450.580
Socialist Workers Party1,2830.210
Total609,337100.0067
Valid votes609,33796.43
Invalid/blank votes22,5713.57
Total votes631,908100.00
Registered voters/turnout917,67768.86
Source: Nohlen[11]

Aftermath

On 13 September 1985, a long-time opponent of Noriega, Hugo Spadafora, was murdered by Panamanian Defense Forces officers. President Barletta called for an investigation of Spadafora's death and allegations of Panamanian Defense Forces complicity. These actions, in conjunction with a power struggle between Roberto Díaz Herrera and Noriega, caused the Panamanian Defense Forces to oust this increasingly unpopular president.[12]

Barletta resigned on 27 September 1985, and was replaced by First Vice-President Eric Arturo Delvalle who promised to return to "Torrijista principles".[13]

"In 1987, the situation grew more critical, producing paralysis within the Panamanian Defense Forces. The crisis came to a head in June 1987 when Colonel Roberto Díaz Herrera, recently retired head of the Panamanian Defense Forces High Command, denounced the internal management of General Noriega's military organization. Díaz Herrera's act was the first public manifestation of a breach. In the face of the Panamanian Defense Forces's demonstrated weakness, the political sector began to mobilize and call for a confrontation with the military. Following the leadership of groups that appeared to have little political experience, they formed the 'Cruzada Civilista' for the purpose of overthrowing the Eric Arturo Delvalle government and convening a 'constituyente' assembly to draw up a new constitution".[14][cleanup needed]

"By late February 1988 the crisis further deepened as Eric Arturo Delvalle attempted to fire Noriega from the Panamanian Defense Forces. Instead, Eric Arturo Delvalle was sacked by the Panamanian Defense Forces-controlled National Assembly and Manuel Solis Palma was elected 'minister in charge of the presidency'".[15][cleanup needed]

References

  1. ^ Pearson, Neale J. "Panama." Latin America and Caribbean contemporary record II. 1983. Pp. 583.
  2. ^ Chronicle of parliamentary elections. Geneva: International Centre for Parliamentary Documentation, Inter-Parliamentary Union. Volume 17, 1983. Pp. 12.
  3. ^ Modglin, Terrence W. 1984. The Panamanian presidential and legislative elections. Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic & International Studies. Pp. 14.
  4. ^ Black, Jan Knippers and Edmundo Flores. "Historical setting." Meditz, Sandra W. 1989. Panama: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Rederal Research Division, Library of Congress. Pp. 60.
  5. ^ Black, Jan Knippers and Edmundo Flores. "Historical setting." Meditz, Sandra W. 1989. Panama: a country study. Washington, D.C.: Rederal Research Division, Library of Congress. Pp. 63.
  6. ^ Robert C. Harding (2006). The History of Panama. Greenwood Press. p. 97. ISBN 031333322X.
  7. ^ Franklin, Ben A. (29 May 1984). "Project Democracy Takes Wing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  8. ^ Kempster, Norman (6 February 1986). "Troubled Foundation: Democracy-Export Stirs Controversy". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  9. ^ a b Scranton, Margaret E. The Noriega years: U.S.-Panamanian relations, 1981-1990. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. 1991. Pp. 76.
  10. ^ Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.533.
  11. ^ Elections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.] : Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.527.
  12. ^ Scranton, Margaret E. The Noriega years: U.S.-Panamanian relations, 1981-1990. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. 1991. Pp. 87.
  13. ^ Schooley, Helen. Conflict in Central America. Harlow: Longman. 1987. Pp. 121.
  14. ^ Gandásegui, Marco A. "The military regimes of Panama." Journal of interamerican studies and world affairs 35, 3:1-18 (fall 1993). Pp. 12.
  15. ^ Loser, Eva. The 1989 Panamanian elections: pre-election report. Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic & International Studies. 1989. Pp. 4.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1984_Panamanian_general_election&oldid=1223277077"