The Debate on the Reorganization of the Circuits Begins. The Assembly Enters the Electoral Arena.
The magistrates of the TE, Narciso Arellano, Luis Guerra Morales and Alfredo Juncá, observe the debate from the first row of the Carlos “Titi” Alvarado auditorium. Electoral reforms. Magistrates of the Electoral Tribunal.
Reforms to the Electoral Code entered the agenda of the Government, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Commission of the National Assembly (AN) this Wednesday, September 9. The commission, chaired by PRD deputy Benicio Robinson, has in its office two bills presented by the Electoral Tribunal (TE) to modify the rules of the game for the May 2029 elections. The debate began with the one that reconfigures the electoral circuits for the election of the 71 deputies, identified as bill 700. The session began with the reading of the entire four-page project.
The Assembly begins to discuss the new map of electoral districts that will govern the election of deputies in 2029.
The document, presented by the TE on August 31, maintains the number of deputies (71) but increases the number of circuits from 39 to 41. The number of single-member districts increases: from 26 to 30. And the number of multi-member districts decreases, from 13 to 11. The number of representatives in the multi-member districts will remain the same: 41. Bocas del Toro loses its single electoral district: the project divides it in two and separates Changuinola. Chiriquí gains one district, from six to seven, and maintains its nine representatives. With this proposal, the province of Panama loses two seats: it would no longer have 25, but 23.
