30,000 flee Martinelli's CD Party
MEMBERS of the Democratic Change (CD) Party deserted in droves during 2015. There were 1,259,043 registered party members at the end of 2014, and the figure now stands at 1,192,803, according to figures from the Electoral Tribunal.
Some 30,000 left the party founded, and currently ruled from a distance by ex-president Ricardo Martinelli, who has promised a triumphal return. It now has a membership of 369,762.
The PRD and Panameñista parties both saw increases. The PRD closed the year with 447,830 members, an increase of 1,414. The Panameñistas went from 231,109 members at the end of 2014 to 249,051 members at the end of last year.
The Partido Popular, despite being in the ruling coalition, lost 369 members to close 2015 with 23,573 adherents.
