Panama Approves Electoral Reform for Independent Candidates

In Panama, the National Commission on Electoral Reforms (CNRE) has approved a formula that could change the political landscape. A key modification stipulates that by endorsing independent candidates, a citizen will be understood to be resigning from their political party, if they are registered in one. "Every action has a reaction, and the consequence of signing this is that the law establishes that they lose their status as registered in a political party," said Alma Cortés, a representative of RM on the reform commission. This aligns with the principle that when a citizen joins one political party while being part of another, it is tacitly understood as a resignation from the former party. In 2015, the Supreme Court of Justice had already declared unconstitutional the restriction of support for independent candidates only to citizens not registered in political parties. Another contentious point modified is the requirement for who can be an independent, addressing an issue where candidates from political parties opted for independent candidacy in recent elections. Under the new agreement, independent candidates must have been out of any political party for at least one year from the moment the memorial is approved to collect signatures. The minimum number of signatures required has also been raised from 2% to 3% of the last electoral roll in the corresponding constituency, as the same 3% requirement is already in place for parties to form and survive. These changes have led to complaints from political party representatives, who argue that this new window allows their members to choose two presidential candidates. Additionally, the candidate registration period has been moved from July to November-December of the year prior to the elections, and the timeframe to collect signatures has been shortened.