1984 Panamanian general election

none Panama 6 May 1984 yes Presidential election presidential 1978 Panamanian presidential election 1978 1989 Panamanian general election 1989 73.13% Nicolás Ardito Barletta Vallarino.jpg Nicolás Ardito Barletta Eric Arturo Delvalle Democratic Revolutionary Party 300,748 46.98% A. Arias President of Panama (cropped).jpg Arnulfo Arias Madrid Mireya Moscoso-Arias Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement 299,035 46.71% President Jorge Illueca Independent politician Nicolás Ardito Barletta Democratic Revolutionary Party 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.Pearson, Neale J. "Panama." Latin America and Caribbean contemporary record II. 1983. Pp. 583. 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.Chronicle of parliamentary elections. Geneva: International Centre for Parliamentary Documentation, Inter-Parliamentary Union. Volume 17, 1983. Pp. 12. 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.Modglin, Terrence W. 1984. The Panamanian presidential and legislative elections. Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic & International Studies. Pp. 14. 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.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. 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".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. 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 Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), the only media outlet to endorse Arias was the independent newspaper La Prensa.The History of Panama Robert C. Harding 2006 Greenwood Press 031333322X 97 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.Franklin Ben A. Project Democracy Takes Wing https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/29/us/project-democracy-takes-wing.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20221007061737/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/05/29/us/project-democracy-takes-wing.html 29 May 1984 7 October 2022 7 June 2023 The New York TimesKempster Norman Troubled Foundation: Democracy-Export Stirs Controversy https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-06-mn-4670-story.html 6 February 1986 live https://web.archive.org/web/20220814005810/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-06-mn-4670-story.html 14 August 2022 7 June 2023 Los Angeles Times 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.Scranton, Margaret E. The Noriega years: U.S.-Panamanian relations, 1981-1990. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. 1991. Pp. 76. 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". President Nicolás Ardito Barletta National Democratic Union 7 Democratic Revolutionary Party 175722 Labor and Agrarian Party 45384 Republican Party 34215 Liberal Party 28568 Panameñista Party 11579 Broad Popular Front 5280 300748 Arnulfo Arias Madrid Democratic Opposition Alliance 4 Authentic Panameñista Party 221335 Christian Democratic Party 46963 Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement 30737 299035 Rubén Darío Paredes Popular Nationalist Party 15976 Carlos Iván Zúñiga Popular Action Party 13782 Carlos Del Cid People's Party of Panama 4598 José Renán Esquivel Workers' Revolutionary Party 3969 Ricardo Barría Socialist Workers' Party 2085 30897 917677 NohlenElections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.533. National Assembly National Democratic Union 7 Democratic Revolutionary Party 153182 34 Labor and Agrarian Party 74430 7 Republican Party 51103 3 Liberal Party 36040 1 Panameñista Party 8063 0 Broad Popular Front 7813 0 330631 45 Democratic Opposition Alliance 4 Authentic Panameñista Party 124562 13 Christian Democratic Party 69998 6 Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement 50936 3 245496 22 Popular Nationalist Party 12596 0 Popular Action Party 8471 0 People's Party of Panama 7315 0 Workers' Revolutionary Party 3545 0 Socialist Workers Party 1283 0 22571 917677 NohlenElections in the Americas : a data handbook / ed. by Dieter Nohlen, Vol. 1. [Oxford] [u.a.] : Oxford Univ. Press, 2005. Pp.527. 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.Scranton, Margaret E. The Noriega years: U.S.-Panamanian relations, 1981-1990. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. 1991. Pp. 87. Barletta resigned on 27 September 1985, and was replaced by First Vice-president Eric Arturo Delvalle who promised to return to "Torrijista principles".Schooley, Helen. Conflict in Central America. Harlow: Longman. 1987. Pp. 121. "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".Gandásegui, Marco A. "The military regimes of Panama." Journal of interamerican studies and world affairs 35, 3:1-18 (fall 1993). Pp. 12.April 2023 "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'".Loser, Eva. The 1989 Panamanian elections: pre-election report. Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic & International Studies. 1989. Pp. 4.April 2023 References General election Category:Elections in Panama Panama Category:Presidential elections in Panama Category:May 1984 in North America