National survey on female political participation showed that 80% of the population would vote for a woman

The Foundation for the Development of Citizen Freedom, Panamanian Chapter of Transparency International published this Thursday the results of a national survey that reflects the opinions and perceptions of the general population regarding the political participation of women in the country. The survey carried out between September and October 2021, with a balanced objective without political-partisan interests, yields results that reflect a society willing and open to female political leadership, and that favors political parity.

The executive director of Libertad Ciudadana, Olga de Obaldía, presented the results of the survey, whose title is “Diagnosis of barriers and opportunities regarding the political participation of women in Panama”, stating that its objective was to understand, probe, seek and investigate what the Panamanian population feels in general and what their perception is regarding women occupying positions of popular election.

“To our surprise, the survey has yielded a diagnosis that shows that Panamanian society has already changed the paradigm, we have already left the sphere of that Panamanian society of the 1930s,” he said.

He affirmed that there is a general consensus of 93% of the citizens surveyed who indicate that women are qualified to occupy spaces of popular election. There is an intention to vote of around 80% who would vote for a female candidate.

76% consider that the country would do better if more women participated in politics and 83% thought that the structures of political parties should be made up of parity.