General elections were held in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

on 5 August 1928 to elect both a new President of the Republic and a new

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

Background

Prior to the elections there was a split in 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, resulting in two Liberal candidates for president. There was no Conservative candidate.''Political Handbook of the World, 1929'', Yale University Press p143

Campaign

In 1928 President

Rodolfo Chiari Rodolfo Chiari Robles (November 15, 1869 in Aguadulce – August 16, 1937 in Monrovia, California) was a Panamanian politician of the National Liberal Party. Chiari was the general manager of National Bank of Panama from 1909 to 1914. He ...

wrested control of the

apparatus from

Belisario Porras Barahona Belisario Porras Barahona (28 November 185628 August 1942) was a Panamanian journalist and politician. He served three terms as President of Panama between 1912 and 1924. Porras was born in Las Tablas, on the thirty-fifth anniversary of Panama ...

. The president also controlled four of seven posts on the national electoral board. The combination of these two factors gave

nearly insurmountable powers and severely curbing his opponents' ability to compete effectively in elections.

Results

President

National Assembly

Aftermath

Immediately after President Arosemena's resignation on 2 January 1931, the Supreme Court decided that the election of the First, Second and Third Vice-Presidents in October, 1930, was unconstitutional and invited Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro Jované (Minister to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

), who was elected First Vice-President in 1928, to become President of the Republic.''Political Handbook of the World, 1931'', Harper Amp Brothers, p146

References

{{Panamanian elections

1928 in Panama Elections in Panama Presidential elections in Panama Election and referendum articles with incomplete results