Government
Type: Constitutional democracy.
Independence: November 3, 1903.
Constitution: October 11, 1972; amended 1983 and 1994 and reformed in 2004.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), two vice presidents. Legislative--National Assembly (unicameral, 78 members). Judicial--Supreme Court.
Subdivisions: Nine provinces and five (Indigenous) territories.
Political parties: Former President Mireya Moscoso belonged to the Arnulfista Party (PA) (now known as the Panamenista Party). The PA in coalition with smaller parties held a slim majority in the National Assembly. The Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) was the primary opposition. Represented by its presidential candidate, Martin Torrijos, the PRD on May 2, 2004 won the presidency and a legislative majority and took power on September 1, 2004.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

PANAMA GOVERNMENT AND PANAMA POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Panama is a representative democracy with three branches of government: executive and legislative branches elected by direct vote for 5-year terms, and an independently appointed judiciary. The executive branch includes a president and two vice presidents. The legislative branch consists of a 78-member unicameral National Assembly. The Constitution was changed in 2004, however, and beginning with national elections in 2009, the executive branch will have only one vice president, and the membership of the National Assembly will be capped at 71. The judicial branch is organized under a nine-member Supreme Court and includes all tribunals and municipal courts. An autonomous Electoral Tribunal supervises voter registration, the election process, and the activities of political parties. Anyone over the age of 18 may vote.

NATIONAL SECURITY
The Government has converted the former PDF into the Panamanian Public Force (PPF), a "law enforcement focused" force that is subordinate to civilian authority, composed of four independent organizations: the Panamanian National Police (Policia Nacional de Panamá or PNP), National Maritime Service (Servicio Maritimo Nacional or SMN), the National Air Service (Servicio Aéreo Nacional or SAN), and the Institutional Protectional Service (Servicio de Protección Institucional or SPI). A constitutional amendment passed in 1994 permanently abolished the military.

Law enforcement units that are separated from the PPF, such as the Technical Judicial Police (PTJ), also are directly subordinate to civilian authorities. The PPF budget, in contrast to the former PDF, is on public record and under the control of the executive. The lead criminal investigative entity is the PTJ. It is nominally under the direction of the autonomous Attorney General. Reforms are pending to re-organize and re-direct the PTJ.

Principal Government Officials
President--Martin TORRIJOS
First Vice President--Samuel LEWIS Navarro
Second Vice President--Rubén AROSEMENA
Ministry of Foreign Affairs--Samuel LEWIS Navarro
Ambassador to the United States--Federico António HUMBERT Arias
Ambassador to the United Nations--Ricardo Alberto ARIAS
Ambassador to the Organization of American States--Aristides ROYO

Panama maintains an embassy in the United States at 2862 McGill Terrace, NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel: 202-483-1407).