Chamber:
	Asamblea Legislativa
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	2 May 1999
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	The 1999 legislative elections were held simultaneously with those for President of the Republic and local representatives. Mr. Ernesto Pérez Balladares, the outgoing President of the Republic, was ineligible for re-election after losing the August 1998 referendum by which he wanted to change constitutional limits for presidential terms. The three candidates to succeed him were Mrs. Mireya Moscoso de Gruber of the Arnulfista Party (PA), the widow of Arnulfo Arias, a populist and three-time President; Mr. Martín Torrijos, the son of General Omar Torrijos, the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) founder and a military President who ruled Panama from 1972 to 1981 and Mr. Alberto Vallarino, a 48-year-old bank executive. Analysts deemed the campaign short on substance: political lineage eclipsed policy debate and history proved as important as the issues of the day. Many voters still associated Mr. Torrijo's ruling PRD with decades of military dictatorship, first under his father and later under General Manuel Antonio Noriega. Mrs. Moscoso even visited her husband's grave and Torrijos his father's tomb in order to capture the electorate's attention. The transfer of the Panama Canal by the United States, with effect from the end of 1999, was not a campaign issue. The cession was negotiated by the elder Torrijos, who was considered a hero when he signed the 1977 Treaty with then US President Jimmy Carter, thus ending the continuous American presence in Panama since the Canal's opening in 1903. Final results gave the presidential victory to Mrs. Moscoso, marking the first time that a woman leads the destiny of the country. She rallied from a 15-point deficit in opinion polls to overtake the candidate of the ruling PRD. One main reason for this was that Mr. Torrijos displayed continuity with PRD policy lines without introducing any substantial change. President Moscoso captured the votes of the country's lower and middle classes, concerned about 12.6 % unemployment and stubborn poverty. During the campaign she accused the outgoing Perez Balladares administration of putting the country in debt to foreign lenders, worsening utility services through privatisation and neglecting health and education. President Moscoso, who took office on September 1, faces a majority opposition in the Legislative Assembly, where the PRD-led New Nation coalition controls 41 of the 71 seats. Her new Cabinet was sworn in the same day.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (2 May 1999): Elections results
Number of registered electors	1 746 989
Voters	1 326 663 (76 %)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	52 158
Valid votes	1 274 505

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	%
New Nation	57.70
Union for Panama	33.80
Action for the Opposition	8.50

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
New Nation	41
Union for Panama	24
Action for the Opposition	6

Comments:

New Nation is comprised of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (with 34 seats), the Solidarity Party (4 seats) and the National Liberal Party (3 seats) . Union for Panama is comprised of the Arnulfista Party (18 seats), the National Republican Liberal Movement (MOLIRENA) (3 seats), the Democratic Party (2 seats) and the National Renovation Movement (MORENA) (1 seat). Action for the Opposition is comprised of the Christian Democratic Party (5 seats) and the Civil Renovation Party (1 seat).

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	65
Women:	7
Percent of women:	9.72