Panama flag Panama: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Panama

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President: Laurentino "Nito" Cortizio Cohen (since 1 July 2019)
Vice President: José Gabriel Carrizo Jaén (since 1 July 2019)
Next Election Dates
Presidential: 5 May 2024
National Assembly: 5 May 2024
Main Political Parties
Panama's political system is based on a multi-party system where parties work together to form coalition governments. The country's major political parties are:

- Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD): centre-left, populist, social-democratic
- Democratic Change (CD): centre-right, opposition, works toward continued economic growth and better infrastructure
- Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA): centre-right, pro-business, liberal, conservative. Allied with the CD
- Panamenista Party (PP): right-wing, populist, conservative
- Another Way Movement (MOCA): big-tent
- Realizing Goals (RM): centre-right to right-wing
- People's Party (PP): centre-right, christian democracy, conservative. Formerly known as Christian Democratic Party or PDC.
Executive Power
The president is both the chief of state and the head of the government. The president and the vice-president are elected by popular vote to serve a five-year term and are not eligible for a consecutive re-election. The president appoints the Cabinet and has executive powers, which include the implementation of the law within the country and running the day-to-day affairs.
Legislative Power
The legislature in Panama is unicameral. The parliament, called the National Assembly, has 71 seats and its members are elected by popular vote for five-year terms. The legislature is a branch of the power which is equal to and independent of the executive. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
77/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
2/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: May 2024