[1] The Panama Canal expansion proposal was presented on April 24, 2006 by President Martín Torrijos to the Panamanian people after years of study by the ACP.

In addition, the Assembly created and passed a law mandating a national referendum in which the people of Panama would vote to approve expansion.

Without an expanded canal, officials predicted, shipping traffic would find other routes and Panama's growing economy would dry up.

Most news and political affairs sources use the convention of using the last date that the poll was conducted in order to establish the inclusion/exclusion of current events.

This system consists of series of data-collecting centers that communicate with the Panama City Press Room of the Electoral Tribunal.