Swoistość prawa wyborczego Panamy na tle wyborów powszechnych z 3 maja 2009 roku
Specific features of the Panama electoral system as valid on the 3rd may 2009 general elections

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the Panamanian electoral system as applied during the last voting process. This legal arrangement is a product of the gradual development, started with the approval in 1958 of the first country’s electoral code. The present-day normative grounds are the 1972 Constitution and the Electoral Code of 10th August 1983. An important role play the Supreme Court and Constitutional Tribunal case laws. The author discusses the electoral system (proportional-majoritarian allocation of seats), the electoral structures (Electoral Tribunal, Electoral Attorney General Office, National Ballot Counting Council), as well the three peculiar institutions of that country: “citizens voluntary electoral corps”, imperative mandate and the timely-ordered electoral reforms. This latter regulation consist in making the changes in the electoral law only once in every five years. The new electoral proposals are debated for about one year by the representative body (political parties, civil society organizations, Electoral Tribunal) and then tabled to the parliament as a ready for adoption legislative measure. The Panamanian electoral processes are characterized by the high electoral turnouts (75%) and the real possibility of replacement of political élites. The May 3, 2009 electoral results were its striking example. The winning political party hardly crossed the electoral threshold during the previous contest. The two political parties formerly at the power had lost their legal existences.

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