Panamanian general election, 1924

The Panama held a general election on 2 September 1924, electing both a new President of the Republic and a new National Assembly.

The Washington government remained aloof and permitted the Panamanians to manage their own affairs. Rodolfo Chiari, the Liberal candidate, defeated General Manuel Quintero Villarreal, the commander of the Panamanian army at Coto and the leader of the opposition, for the presidency in an election of ‘orden perfecto’. ^[1]

One practice that grew out of the struggle for control of the electoral board was the ‘paquetazo,’ which amounted to stuffing the ballot boxes with ghost votes, thereby giving the party that controlled the board a landslide victory in a particularly difficult to monitor, remote part of the country. One of the more blatant cases occurred in 1924. Rodolfo Chiari, the administration’s hand-picked candidate, easily won the 1924 election, including a landslide margin among the indigenous people of San Blas. There police intimidation resulted in a margin of 594 to 17 in favor of Chiari. ^[2]

Presidential election results^[3]

Legislative election ^[4]

References

Elections and referendums in Panama Presidential elections 1904 1908 1912 1916 1918 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1945 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1978 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 Parliamentary elections 1904 1910 1914 1918 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1945 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1978 1980 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 Referendums 1940 1977 1983 1992 1998 2006