International IDEA and the Electoral Tribunal of Panama Analyse Global Trends in Electronic Voting

The purpose of the meeting was to exchange technical experiences and analyse international standards related to the application of technology to electronic voting—both remote (early voting, in the case of Panama) and non-remote (on-site electronic voting)—with particular emphasis on software models.

The session was attended by senior officials from the Electoral Tribunal, including Executive Director Yara Campo; Director of Electoral Organisation Rubén González; Director of the Institute for Democratic Studies (INED) Salvador Sánchez; PLAGEL Coordinator Erika Ortiz; and Director of Information Technology and Communications Mike Martínez, among others. Representing International IDEA were Alicia del Águila, Programme Manager in Panama, and Nicolas Liendo, Programme Officer at the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The technical session featured a presentation by Jordi Barrat Esteve who, together with engineer Jasmina Papiol, both professors at Universitat Rovira i Virgili, examined international best practices in electronic voting. The experts discussed the key pillars of security, transparency and efficiency across the different software models currently used worldwide.

Through this exchange, the Electoral Tribunal reaffirms its commitment to modernising the voting system, ensuring that any technological implementation is based on international best practices and safeguards the integrity of the vote.

The organisation of the 2029 electoral process is being conducted by thirty commissions and two sub commissions, working in coordination with the Electoral Tribunal’s fifteen regional offices across the country.