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Panama
Women in decision-making positions
9%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (62 elected women)
No woman is Head of State/Government
23%
Parliamentarians are women
31%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Panama is a unitary republic with two spheres of government: central and local.

One tier of central government and one tier of local government composed of municipalities.
Central government
  • Head of State: The President of the Republic is directly elected by voters.                
  • Head of Government: The President of the Republic is the Head of State and the Head of Government.
  • Legislative body: The National Assembly is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet Council is chaired by the President of the Republic and consists of the Vice-President of the Republic and the ministers of state, who are appointed by the President of the Republic.
Local government
  • Organization: Local government in Panama is organized into one tier of 81 municipalities.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for approving the municipal budget and taxes and adopting and amending municipal agreements and resolutions that have the force of law within the respective municipality.
  • Ministerial oversight: Ministry of Government

Overview of local government

Local government composition
Municipalities (municipios)

Deliberative body: The municipal council (concejo municipal) is composed of at least five elected members, including the mayor. A council president is elected by and from the municipal council to preside over it; the council president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The mayor (alcalde), assisted by a deputy (vicealcalde), is the executive at the municipal level of government.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for municipal councils: proportional representation (open list) or majority/plurality (block vote)

  • The municipal council is composed of all borough representatives which have been directly elected by voters of the municipal boroughs. There is one borough representative per borough, elected through a first-past-the-post electoral system.
  • If there are less than five boroughs within a municipality, councilors shall be elected by direct popular vote, according to the procedure and systems of proportional representation established by law, so that there are five members in a Municipal Council.

Electoral system for mayors: direct elections

  • The mayor is directly elected by voters of the municipality.

Sources: Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama, 1972 (amended through 2004), article 237; Electoral Code, 1983 (amended through 2021), article 424

Quotas

Gender quotas: Candidate quota with sanctions

  • In all elections, political parties must ensure that gender parity and equality is respected. This means that lists must be composed of 50% men and 50% women. For uninominal elections, the main candidate and the substitute must be of a different sex.
  • The Electoral Court will not approve applications that do not meet these conditions.

Additional quotas: No

Source: Electoral Code, 1983 (amended through 2021), articles 71, 101 and 373

Term of elections
  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: 2019
  • Next local elections: 2024
Electoral management body

Electoral Court of Panama

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama, 1972 (amended through 2004);
  • Electoral Code, 1983 (amended through 2021);
  • Law on the Municipal Regime, 1973 (amended through 2015);
  • Law on the Organization and Function of Communal Boards, 1973.
Constitutional provisions on local government

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in Panama. According to Articles 232 and 233 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama of 1972 (amended through 2004), “the municipality is the autonomous political organization established within a district. The municipal organization shall be democratic and will respond to the essentially administrative character of local government. As fundamental entity of the political-administrative structure of the State with its own democratic and autonomous self-government it is the duty of the municipality to provide the services and carry out the public works determined by law, to structure the development of its territory, to promote citizen participation as well as the cultural and social improvement of its inhabitants and to fulfill the other functions assigned to it by the Constitution and the law.”

Legislative provisions on local government

The National Assembly is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key piece of legislation which regulates local government is the Law on the Municipal Regime of 1973, which establishes the organization and functions of the municipal government.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.