The National Electoral Reform Commission (CNRE) reconvened after a five-week recess to discuss a topic that immediately sparked intense debate: the voting system in multi-member districts. The proposal suggests amending Article 424 of the Electoral Code to allow citizens to vote for candidates from multiple parties or lists up to the number of seats established in their district. Currently, voters in these districts only have two options: to vote for all candidates on a party list (a 'plancha' vote) or for a single candidate. Magistrate Luis Guerra expressed that voters feel 'with their hands tied' in multi-member districts, which is why this change was proposed. However, there is a concern that with this new system, a single political party could win all the seats in a district. The Electoral Tribunal (TE) proposed ending the closed but blocked list system in favor of an open list with cross-voting. Panameñista José Blandón agreed with this possibility. Meanwhile, Alain Cedeño, representing the private sector, believes the current seat allocation system is complicated but considers it one of the best. He warned that if this alternative is not well-explained, the number of errors would be extraordinary. No decision was made on the proposal yesterday, and it was decided that all CNRE members would meet next Wednesday, January 14th, to thoroughly evaluate, approve, or present a counter-proposal.
Panama: Electoral Reform Law Amendment Debated
In Panama, the National Electoral Reform Commission discussed a proposal to amend the Electoral Code. The proposal would allow citizens to vote for candidates from multiple parties in multi-member districts. This has sparked intense debate, with politicians raising concerns that the new system could lead to the dominance of a single political party.
