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 Co ...

on May 3, 2009.

Presidential race

Balbina Herrera Balbina Del Carmen Herrera Araúz (born c. 1955) is a Panamanian politician and presidential candidate in the 2009 Panamanian general election. On May 3, 2009, she lost the race to the presidency of the Republic of Panama to center-right candida ...

was the

Democratic Revolutionary Party The Democratic Revolutionary Party ( es, Partido Revolucionario Democrático, PRD) is a political party in Panama founded in 1979 by General Omar Torrijos. It is generally described as being positioned on the centre-left. History Since its creat ...

(PRD) candidate for

President of Panama This article lists the heads of state of Panama since the short-lived first independence from the Republic of New Granada in 1840 and the final separation from Colombia in 1903. Free State of the Isthmus (1840–1841) Republic of Panama ...

. She had previously served as President of the National Assembly of Panama during the Mireya Moscoso presidency and Housing Minister under outgoing president

Martin Torrijos Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

. Herrera won her party's primary on September 7, 2008, defeating

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...

Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro with a ten-point lead. 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 ...

and the People's Party were in alliance with the PRD in support of Herrera. Herrera was also endorsed by

Ruben Blades Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...

, a popular salsa musician who had previously run for president and served as Torrijos' Minister of Tourism, and was initially considered the favorite for the presidency. If elected, she would have become Panama's second female president. Ricardo Martinelli was the candidate of the opposition Democratic Change, also supported by the Patriotic Union Party, the

Panameñista Party The Panameñista Party is a nationalist political party in Panama. It was the third largest party by number of adherents with 256,138 members (as of February 2016). Founding and early history The party is the oldest continuously operating pa ...

and the

Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement The Nationalist Republican Liberal Movement ( es, Movimiento Liberal Republicano Nacionalista, MOLIRENA) is a centre-right conservative-liberal political party in Panama. History The MOLIRENA was founded on October 21, 1981, by the now-defunc ...

. Martinelli was a successful businessman, and was the chairman of the board of Panama's Super 99 supermarket chain.
English Translation
During the presidency of

Ernesto Pérez Balladares Ernesto Pérez Balladares González-Revilla (born June 29, 1946), nicknamed ''El Toro'' ("The Bull"), is a Panamanian politician who was the President of Panama between 1994 and 1999. Educated in the United States, Pérez Balladares worked as ...

, Martinelli had served as Director of

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

from 1994 to 1996. From September 1999 to January 2003, he had served in the Moscoso Administration as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

and as the Minister for Canal Affairs.

Guillermo Endara Guillermo David Endara Galimany (May 12, 1936 – September 28, 2009) was a Panamanian politician who served as the President of Panama from 1989 to 1994. Raised in a family allied to Panameñista Party founder Arnulfo Arias, Endara attended s ...

, former Panamanian president from 1989 to 1994, ran as the candidate for the

Fatherland's Moral Vanguard Party ''Vanguardia Moral de la Patria'' ('Moral Vanguard of the Fatherland') was a Panamanian political party led by Guillermo Endara Guillermo David Endara Galimany (May 12, 1936 – September 28, 2009) was a Panamanian politician who served as ...

. Though initially the favorite, Herrera was damaged in the election by her links to former military ruler

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritarian ruler who amassed a personal f ...

and by the perception that she was a "Chavista", a supporter of leftist Venezuelan president

Hugo Chavez Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

. Martinelli was also helped by strong support from the business community and his campaign promise of "real change" resonated among poor voters. On May 3, 2009, Martinelli won the national elections by a landslide, with over 60% of the votes compared to Herrera, who received about 36%. Former president

finished a distant third. Martinelli was declared the winner after 43.68% of the votes had been counted. This was the second-largest majority in Panamanian history, and the largest since 1989. Martinelli's victory was an exception to a trend of victories for left-leaning Latin American candidates. He was sworn in on July 1, 2009.

Results

President

Legislative Assembly

References

External links

Official presidential results
{{Panamanian elections

General election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Elections in Panama Presidential elections in Panama