Panama

National Assembly

Political system
Presidential system
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Asamblea Nacional (National Assembly)
Chamber name
Asamblea Nacional (National Assembly)
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1925 to 1935
from 1958 to 1969
from 1976
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC)

Speaker

Official title
President of the National Assembly
Speaker
Dana Castañeda (Female)
Date of birth: 08 Feb 1968
Term
01 Jul 2024 to 01 Jul 2025

Speaker terms

Click for historical data

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General
Secretary General
Carlos Ramón Alvarado (Male)
Term
01 Jul 2024 to 01 Jul 2029
Notes

Elected on 1 July 2024 for a five-year term.

Members

Statutory number of members
71
Principal mode of designation of members
Directly elected
Directly elected members
71
Current number of members
70
Men
55
Women
15
Percentage of women
21.4%
Statutory number of members per country
71
Population (in thousands)
4,459
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
62,803

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
46.5
(2024-07)
Youngest member
Neftali Omar Zamora Ibarra (Male)
Youngest member (years)
24
Oldest member
Carlos Tito Afú (Male)
Oldest member (years)
74
Number of members, by age (2024-07)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 8 13 7 4 11 10 1 0 0 54
Female 0 0 3 3 5 3 1 0 0 0 15
Totals per age interval 0 8 16 10 9 14 11 1 0 0 69
Total <= 45: 34 Total >= 46: 35
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
11.6% 11.6% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
34.8% 30% 4.3%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
49.3% 41% 8.7%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes: Nomination lists of political parties presented for primaries and internal elections should include 50% women. These lists should be certified by a representative of the women’s secretariats in political parties. If the level of women’s participation is less than the standard provided by this article, and this is attested by the women’s secretariat, the party can fill the vacant candidacies with male candidates. (Source: https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas )

Sources: Electoral Code of Panama, article 239 (amended by Law 54, 2012, Article 6),

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
No information available
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No