1964 Panamanian general election

General elections were held in Panama on 10 May 1964, electing both a new President of the Republic and a new National Assembly.

Seven candidates competed in the 1964 presidential elections, although only three were serious contenders. Marco Aurelio Robles, who had served as minister of the presidency in Roberto F. Chiari's cabinet, was the candidate of the National Opposition Union, comprising the PLN and 7 smaller parties. After lengthy backstage maneuvers, Robles was endorsed by the outgoing president. Juan de Arco Galindo, a former member of the National Assembly and public works minister and brother-in-law of former President Ernesto de la Guardia, was the candidate of the National Opposition Union coalition, comprising 6 parties headed by the CPN. Arnulfo Arias was supported by the PP, already the largest single party in the country.

According to Ian Gorvin, "PLN retained the presidency in 1964 when Robles won 134,627 votes compared with 123,186 for Arias, now candidate of the Panamanian Party. Arias maintained that the elections had been rigged and demanded a recount, but the National Elections Board upheld the result."

Results

President

Candidate		Party or alliance			Votes	%
	Marco Aurelio Robles	National Opposition Union		National Liberal Party	48,574	15.31
				Republican Party	32,445	10.23
				National Liberation Movement	12,920	4.07
				Labor and Agrarian Party	11,483	3.62
				Democratic Action Party	10,975	3.46
				National Progressive Party	9,800	3.09
				Nationalist Party	2,803	0.88
				Revolutionary Isthmian Party	933	0.29
			Total		129,933	40.97
	Arnulfo Arias	Panameñista Party			119,201	37.58
	Juan de Arco Galindo	National Opposition Alliance		National Patriotic Coalition	23,872	7.53
				Third Nationalist Party	11,442	3.61
				Renewal Party	4,218	1.33
				Liberal Civic Resistance Party	4,096	1.29
				DIPAL Party	3,046	0.96
				National Civic Party	1,079	0.34
			Total		47,753	15.06
	José Antonio Molino	Christian Democratic Party			9,681	3.05
	Florencio Harris	Socialist Party			4,374	1.38
	Norberto Navarro	Radical Action Party			3,708	1.17
	José de la Rosa Castillo	National Reformist Party			2,521	0.79
Total					317,171	100.00
Valid votes					317,171	97.17
Invalid/blank votes					9,230	2.83
Total votes					326,401	100.00
Registered voters/turnout					486,420	67.10
Source: Nohlen

National Assembly

Party or alliance				Seats
	National Opposition Union		National Liberal Party	8
			Republican Party	4
			National Liberation Movement	2
			Labor and Agrarian Party	1
			Democratic Action Party	1
			National Progressive Party	2
			Nationalist Party	0
			Revolutionary Isthmian Party	0
		Total		18
	Panameñista Party			12
	National Opposition Alliance (ANO)		National Patriotic Coalition	3
			Third Nationalist Party	4
			Liberal Civic Resistance Party	0
			Renewal Party	1
			DIPAL Party	0
			National Civic Party	0
		Total		8
	Christian Democratic Party			1
	Socialist Party			1
	Radical Action Party			1
	National Reformist Party			1
Total				42
Source: Nohlen

Aftermath

"As the 1968 elections approached the opposition accused President Robles of unlawfully using his office to support the candidacy of David Samudio as his successor. The opposition parties held a majority in the legislature, which impeached Robles".

The National Assembly met in special session and appointed a commission to gather evidence. Robles, in turn, obtained a judgment from a Municipal Court that the Assembly was acting unconstitutionally. The National Assembly chose to ignore a stay order issued by the municipal court pending the reconvening of the Supreme Court on 1 April, and on 14 March it voted for impeachment (by 30 votes to 12). On 24 March, the National Assembly found Robles guilty and declared him deposed and replaced him with Max Delvalle, who being the senior Vice-President was sworn in as President of the Republic. Robles and the National Guard ignored the proceedings, maintaining that they would abide by the decision of the Supreme Court when it reconvened. The Supreme Court, with only one dissenting vote, ruled the impeachment proceedings unconstitutional. But Delvalle denied its authority to overrule decisions of the legislature and continued to fill the presidency. The Electoral Tribunal subsequently ruled that thirty of the parliamentary deputies involved in the impeachment proceedings were ineligible for reelection. Robles, with the support of the National Guard, retained the presidency.