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Registered | 5,268,411 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 51.88% ( 3.44pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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El Salvadorportal |
Presidential elections were held in El Salvador on 3 February 2019, with Salvadorans electing the president and vice president for a five-year term from 2019 to 2024.
The election resulted in victory for Nayib Bukele of the right-wing Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), who received 53%, defeating Carlos Calleja of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), Hugo Martínez of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) and Josué Alvarado of the centrist Vamos party. [1] With his victory, Bukele became the first president since José Napoleón Duarte (1984–1989) to not be a member of either ARENA or the FMLN, which had controlled the presidency in a two-party system from 1989 to 2019.
Prior to the elections, Bukele held a lead against Calleja, Martínez and Alvarado in virtually every poll conducted between July 2018 and January 2019. A second round in March was rendered unnecessary as Bukele won an outright majority; Bukele won a plurality in all of the country's fourteen departments, winning an outright majority in eight of them. [2] [3] Bukele was inaugurated on 1 June 2019. [4]
Salvador Sánchez Cerén, the then vice president of El Salvador, won the 2014 presidential election by a narrow margin. As a member of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), he defeated Norman Quijano, the then mayor of San Salvador of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance, in that election's second round, winning 50.11 percent of the vote by a margin of 6,364 votes. [5] Sánchez Cerén was inaugurated on 1 June 2014, succeeding fellow FMLN President Mauricio Funes. He was the first former guerrilla fighter from the Salvadoran Civil War to be elected president. [6]
Although in control of the presidency, the FMLN did not have a majority of the Legislative Assembly, with power being divided between it, ARENA, and various other political parties. In the 2015 legislative election, the FMLN won 31 seats and ARENA won 35 seats, with the remaining 18 seats being controlled by other parties. [7] In the succeeding 2018 legislative election, the FMLN fell to 23 seats while ARENA increased to 38 seats, with the remaining 23 seats being controlled by other parties. [8]
In October 2017, the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) scheduled El Salvador's upcoming 2019 presidential election to occur on 3 February 2019, with a possible second round being scheduled for 10 March 2019. In the election, Salvadorans would elect the country's president and vice president to serve a five-year term from 2019 to 2024. [9]
A presidential candidate needed to win an absolute absolute majority (50% + 1) to be declared the winner of the election. If no candidate received an absolute majority, a second between the two candidates with the most valid votes would have occurred. All presidential and vice presidential candidates must have been at least 30 years old and be Salvadoran citizens by birth. [10] [11]
The following tables lists dates which mark events which related to the election. [9]
Date | Event |
---|---|
2 February 2018 | Deadline for voters to change address |
4 April 2018 | Deadline for parties to convoke primary elections |
2 October 2018 | Beginning of electoral campaigning |
5 October 2018 | Deadline for the TSE to convoke the presidential election |
3 February 2019 | Presidential election |
10 March 2019 | Second round (if necessary) |
On 27 October 2017, Mauricio Interiano , the president of the Nationalist Republican Alliance, announced that the party would hold its primary election on 22 April 2018. [12] Six members of the party expressed interest in securing the party's presidential nomination: [12] [13]
In October 2017, Parada withdrew his candidacy, believing that his campaign would be impossible. [14] In December 2017, Awad and Montalvo were eliminated from competition, while Calleja, Simán, and López advanced to the party's primary election [13] where Calleja won 60.8 percent of the vote, officially becoming the party's presidential nominee. [15]
Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
Carlos Calleja | 34,670 | 60.80 |
Javier Simán | 21,779 | 38.19 |
Gustavo López | 574 | 1.01 |
Total | 57,023 | 100.00 |
Valid votes | 57,023 | 96.86 |
Invalid votes | 1,292 | 2.19 |
Blank votes | 559 | 0.95 |
Total votes | 58,874 | 100.00 |
Source: Nationalist Republican Alliance |
On 28 February 2018, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front announced that it would hold its primary election on 27 May 2018. [16] [17] Óscar Ortiz, the then vice president of El Salvador, was a potential candidate to secure the party's nomination, but he declined to run after Salvador Cerén appointed him as the technical secretary of the presidency. [17] Two party members announced their intention to seek the party's presidential nomination: [17] [18]
On 27 May 2018, Hugo Martínez was selected as the party's presidential nominee, winning 72.09 percent of the vote. [19] The party elected Karina Sosa, a former deputy of the Legislative Assembly, as the party's vice presidential nominee. [20]
Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
Hugo Martínez | 20,259 | 72.09 |
Gerson Martínez | 7,845 | 27.91 |
Total | 28,104 | 100.00 |
Valid votes | 28,104 | 99.47 |
Invalid/blank votes | 150 | 0.53 |
Total votes | 28,254 | 100.00 |
Source: El Mundo |
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Political offices
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The Grand Alliance for National Unity held its primary election on 29 July 2018. Two candidates participated in the election, Nayib Bukele, the former mayor of San Salvador from 2015 to 2018, and Will Salgado , the former mayor of San Miguel, but the day before the election, Salgado announced that he withdrew from the primary. Although Salgado withdrew, his name was still on the ballot, [21] but regardless, Bukele won 93.71 percent of the vote and was selected as the party's presidential nominee. [22] [21] Bukele's campaign slogan was "Let's Make History" ("Hagamos Historia"). [23]
Candidate | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
Nayib Bukele | 1,863 | 93.71 |
Will Salgado (withdrawn) | 125 | 6.29 |
Total | 1,988 | 100.00 |
Valid votes | 1,988 | 96.41 |
Invalid votes | 65 | 3.15 |
Blank votes | 9 | 0.44 |
Total votes | 2,062 | 100.00 |
Source: El Mundo |
Party | Candidate | Running mate | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand Alliance for National Unity [a] | Nayib Bukele Mayor of San Salvador (2015–2018) Mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán (2012–2015) | Félix Ulloa | |||
Nationalist Republican Alliance [b] | Carlos Calleja | Carmen Lazo | |||
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front | Hugo Martínez Minister of Foreign Affairs (2009–2013, 2014–2018) Secretary General of SICA (2013–2014) Deputy of the Legislative Assembly (2003–2009) | Karina Sosa Deputy of the Legislative Assembly (2012–2021) | |||
Vamos | Josué Alvarado | Roberto Rivera |
Two presidential debates were held; the first was hosted by the University of El Salvador (UES) on 16 December 2018 and the second was hosted by the Salvadoran Association of Broadcasters (ASDER). Calleja, Martínez, and Alvarado attended both debates, while Bukele was absent from both. [24] [25]
2019 Salvadoran presidential election debates | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Organizers | P Present A Absent | ||||||
ARENA | FMLN | VAMOS | GANA | Ref. | ||||
16 Dec 2018 | UES | P Calleja | P Martínez | P Alvarado | A Bukele | [24] | ||
13 Jan 2019 | ASDER | P Calleja | P Martínez | P Alvarado | A Bukele | [25] |
Opinion polling from July 2018 through January 2019 consistently gave Bukele a lead over Calleja, Martínez, and Alvarado.
Presidential election polls | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | Calleja (ARENA) | Martínez (FMLN) | Alvarado (VAMOS) | Bukele (GANA) | Undecided | None | Lead | Ref. |
CONARES | 17 Jan 2019 | 2,012 | 19.0 | 13.0 | 1.0 | 61.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 42.0 | [26] |
CDOP | 17 Jan 2019 | 1,300 | 27.3 | 10.5 | 1.0 | 36.1 | 9.6 | 15.1 | 8.8 | [27] |
CIOPS/UTEC | 16 Jan 2019 | 2,113 | 24.0 | 8.1 | 0.6 | 40.4 | 26.1 | – | 16.4 | [28] |
UFG | 15 Jan 2019 | 1,536 | 21.8 | 8.1 | 1.0 | 42.6 | 18.4 | 8.1 | 20.8 | [29] |
CIG-Gallup | 11 Jan 2019 | 1,000 | 23.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 | 42.0 | 26.0 | – | 19.0 | [30] |
Mitofsky | 8 Jan 2019 | 1,000 | 31.0 | 11.0 | 1.0 | 57.0 | – | – | 26.0 | [31] |
IUDOP/UCA | 13 Dec 2018 | 1,806 | 19.7 | 10.6 | 0.8 | 44.1 | 22.3 | 2.5 | 24.4 | [32] |
TResearch | 11 Dec 2018 | 1,000 | 31.0 | 10.3 | 1.3 | 57.4 | – | – | 26.4 | [33] |
UES | 10 Dec 2018 | 1,557 | 17.34 | 8.73 | 0.26 | 48.43 | 25.24 | – | 31.09 | [34] |
Fundaungo | 7 Dec 2018 | 1,985 | 21.4 | 11.3 | 0.6 | 42.0 | 15.0 | 9.7 | 20.6 | [35] |
TResearch | 5 Dec 2018 | 1,000 | 31.3 | 10.4 | 1.3 | 57.0 | – | – | 25.7 | [36] |
CIOPS/UTEC | 5 Dec 2018 | 2,133 | 24.5 | 10.4 | 0.9 | 40.5 | 12.8 | 10.9 | 16.0 | [37] |
La Prensa Gráfica | 29 Nov 2018 | 2,000 | 16.8 | 6.9 | 0.5 | 28.9 | 5.7 | 41.2 | 12.1 | [38] |
TResearch | 25 Nov 2018 | 1,000 | 31.9 | 10.8 | 1.4 | 55.9 | – | – | 24.0 | [39] |
Fundaungo | 20 Nov 2018 | 1,068 | 14.2 | 10.2 | 1.9 | 35.1 | 10.0 | 28.6 | 20.9 | [40] |
UFG | 19 Nov 2018 | 1,538 | 21.4 | 6.4 | 1.5 | 40.7 | 21.2 | 8.7 | 19.3 | [41] |
CID-Gallup | 1 Nov 2018 | 1,000 | 28.0 | 16.0 | 1.0 | 44.0 | – | 1.0 | 16.0 | [42] |
TResearch | 29 Oct 2018 | 1,000 | 32.2 | 9.0 | 0.9 | 56.6 | – | 1.3 | 24.4 | [43] |
TResearch | 24 Oct 2018 | 1,000 | 32.1 | 9.3 | 1.1 | 56.5 | – | 1.0 | 24.4 | [44] |
ICP | 23 Oct 2018 | 1,400 | 31.7 | 13.6 | 0.6 | 33.3 | – | 20.8 | 1.6 | [45] |
TResearch | 15 Oct 2018 | 1,000 | 31.8 | 9.4 | 1.0 | 56.1 | – | 1.7 | 24.3 | [46] |
CIOPS/UTEC | 9 Oct 2018 | 2,133 | 21.0 | 10.5 | 1.0 | 48.0 | 19.5 | – | 27.0 | [47] |
CONARES | 8 Oct 2018 | 1,400 | 21.0 | 11.0 | 1.0 | 45.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 24.0 | [48] |
TResearch | 1 Oct 2018 | 1,000 | 32.4 | 10.9 | 1.1 | 54.6 | – | 1.0 | 22.2 | [49] |
CID-Gallup | 26 Sept 2018 | 1,205 | 20.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 45.0 | 27.0 | – | 25.0 | [50] |
La Prensa Gráfica | 31 Aug 2018 | 1,520 | 17.6 | 8.6 | 0.3 | 21.9 | 37.5 | 14.1 | 4.3 | [51] |
UFG | 28 Aug 2018 | 1,295 | 23.0 | 10.0 | 2.3 | 37.7 | 26.0 | 1.0 | 14.7 | [52] |
TResearch | 19 Aug 2018 | 3,600 | 30.2 | 9.7 | 1.1 | 55.9 | – | 3.1 | 25.7 | [53] |
TResearch | 31 Jul 2018 | 3,600 | 31.7 | 9.7 | 2.8 | 55.8 | – | – | 24.1 | [54] |
CID-Gallup | 30 Jul 2018 | 806 | 24.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 38.0 | 33.0 | – | 14.0 | [55] |
2014 election | 9 Mar 2014 | N/A | 49.89 | 50.11 | – | – | – | – | 0.22 | [5] |
Candidate | Running mate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nayib Bukele | Félix Ulloa | Grand Alliance for National Unity | 1,434,856 | 53.10 | |
Carlos Calleja | Carmen Aída Lazo | Nationalist Republican Alliance | 857,084 | 31.72 | |
Hugo Martínez | Karina Sosa | Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front | 389,289 | 14.41 | |
Josué Alvarado | Roberto Rivera | Vamos | 20,763 | 0.77 | |
Total | 2,701,992 | 100.00 | |||
Valid votes | 2,701,992 | 98.86 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 31,186 | 1.14 | |||
Total votes | 2,733,178 | 100.00 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 5,268,411 | 51.88 | |||
Source: TSE |
Department | ARENA | FMLN | Vamos | GANA | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
Ahuachapán | 50,051 | 36.10 | 28,257 | 20.38 | 660 | 0.47 | 59,689 | 43.05 |
Cabañas | 26,325 | 39.61 | 8,586 | 12.92 | 199 | 0.30 | 31,346 | 47.17 |
Chalatenango | 30,364 | 32.40 | 20,934 | 22.34 | 316 | 0.34 | 42,092 | 44.92 |
Cuscatlán | 39,098 | 33.89 | 17,882 | 15.50 | 609 | 0.52 | 57,795 | 50.09 |
La Libertad | 117,092 | 37.25 | 33,823 | 9.85 | 3,756 | 1.10 | 177,832 | 51.80 |
La Paz | 40,762 | 29.41 | 17,357 | 12.53 | 656 | 0.47 | 79,803 | 57.59 |
La Unión | 29,138 | 31.82 | 12,256 | 13.39 | 295 | 0.32 | 49,871 | 54.47 |
Morazán | 26,007 | 32.13 | 23,102 | 28.54 | 193 | 0.23 | 31,649 | 39.10 |
San Miguel | 43,960 | 24.36 | 37,529 | 20.80 | 906 | 0.50 | 98,064 | 54.34 |
San Salvador | 246,792 | 29.99 | 86,656 | 10.53 | 9,582 | 1.16 | 479,991 | 58.32 |
Santa Ana | 77,550 | 34.09 | 24,695 | 10.86 | 1,821 | 0.80 | 123,413 | 54.25 |
San Vicente | 22,786 | 31.33 | 15,921 | 21.89 | 266 | 0.36 | 33,765 | 46.42 |
Sonsonate | 60,796 | 31.62 | 28,599 | 14.87 | 1,095 | 0.57 | 101,794 | 52.94 |
Usulután | 35,422 | 26.47 | 33,350 | 24.93 | 406 | 0.30 | 64,619 | 48.30 |
Total | 857,084 | 31.72 | 389,289 | 14.41 | 20,763 | 0.77 | 1,434,856 | 53.10 |
Source: TSE |
Politics of El Salvador takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of El Salvador is both head of state and head of government, and of an executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. El Salvador was ranked 5th least electoral democratic country in Latin America and the Caribbean according to V-Dem Democracy indices in 2023 with a score of 0.378 out of 1.
The president of the Republic of El Salvador is the head of state and head of government of El Salvador. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of El Salvador.
The Nationalist Republican Alliance is a conservative, center-right to right-wing political party of El Salvador. It was founded on 30 September 1981 by retired Salvadoran Army Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. It defines itself as a political institution constituted to defend the democratic, republican, and representative system of government, the social market economy system and nationalism.
The government of El Salvador is a presidential representative democratic republic.
The Christian Democratic Party is a Salvadoran political party. From 2011 to 2012, the party was renamed to Party of Hope before reverting to the Christian Democratic Party. The PDC has been led by Reinaldo Carballo since 2023.
The Grand Alliance for National Unity is a political party in El Salvador. The party established itself on 16 January 2010 and was recognized by the Supreme Electoral Court of El Salvador on 19 May of the same year.
Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who, since 1 June 2019, has been the 81st president of El Salvador. As a member of the Nuevas Ideas political party, Bukele is the first Salvadoran president since 1989 who was not elected as a candidate of one of the country's two major political parties: the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) or the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), of which Bukele had previously been a member.
Juan Carlos Calleja Hakker is a Salvadoran businessman and former politician. Calleja is currently the CEO of Grupo Éxito and the vice president of the Calleja Group which owns Supermercados Super Selectos, the largest supermarket chain in El Salvador. He was the presidential candidate for the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) during the 2019 presidential election. He received 31.72 percent of the vote and came in second place to Nayib Bukele, the election's winner.
Hugo Roger Martínez Bonilla is a Salvadoran industrial engineer, politician, diplomat and writer. He is a member of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), one of the two major political parties in El Salvador. Martínez served as Foreign Minister of El Salvador from 2009 until 2013 under former President Mauricio Funes and again from 2014 to 2018 within the government of President Salvador Sánchez Cerén. In 2019, being the ruling party presidential candidate, he came 3rd with 14%.
Félix Augusto Antonio Ulloa Garay is a Salvadoran politician, speaker, professor, and lawyer who has been serving as the Vice President of El Salvador since 1 June 2019.
Legislative elections were held in El Salvador on 18 February 2021. Salvadorans elected all 84 deputies of the Legislative Assembly, all 262 mayors of municipal councils of the country's municipalities, and all 20 of El Salvador's deputies to the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).
Nuevas Ideas is the ruling political party of El Salvador. The party was founded on 25 October 2017 by Nayib Bukele, the then-mayor of San Salvador, and was registered by the Supreme Electoral Court on 21 August 2018. The party's current president is Xavier Zablah Bukele, a cousin of Bukele who has served since March 2020.
Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez de Bukele is a Salvadoran educator, prenatal psychologist and the current First Lady of El Salvador, as the wife of the 43rd President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele. She is also a professional ballet dancer and is part of the dance company Fundación Ballet de El Salvador.
Irma Michelle Martha Ninette Sol Schweikert de Castro, commonly known Michelle Sol, is a Salvadoran politician and businesswoman who currently serves as the minister of housing of El Salvador. She previously served as the mayor of Nuevo Cuscatlán from 2015 to 2019, and was a candidate for mayor of La Libertad Este in 2024.
Nuestro Tiempo is a Salvadoran political party. The party was founded in 2019 and it is currently led by Andy Failer.
General elections were held in El Salvador in February and March 2024. In the first round on 4 February, voters elected the president, vice president, and all 60 deputies of the Legislative Assembly. In the second round on 3 March, voters elected mayors and municipal councils for all 44 of the country's municipalities and all 20 of El Salvador's deputies to the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN).
The following tables list the results of opinion polls for the presidential, legislative, and municipal elections conducted since October 2022 in reverse chronological order for the 2024 Salvadoran general election. The party with the highest percentage is listed in bold and displayed with its background shaded, and the party with the second highest percentage is listed in bold. The lead column shows the percentage between the parties with the first and second highest percentages. For legislative and municipal election polls, projected seat counts, if available, are listed below the percentage.
Juan Manuel de Jesús Flores Cornejo, nicknamed "El Chino", is a Salvadoran politician who has served as the secretary-general of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) since 2024. Flores served as the mayor of Quezaltepeque from 2003 to 2012 and then later as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly from La Libertad from 2012 to 2021. He was the presidential candidate for the FMLN in the 2024 general election with running mate was Werner Marroquín. He lost in a landslide to incumbent President Nayib Bukele, accumulating only 6.40 percent of the vote. Flores supports El Salvador further strengthening relations with the People's Republic of China.
Guillermo Antonio Gallegos Navarrete is a Salvadoran lawyer and former politician of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA). He served as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador from 2000 to 2024 and as the president of the Legislative Assembly from 2016 to 2018.
Karim Alberto Bukele Ortez is a Salvadoran businessman and politician. He is a younger brother of and was a presidential advisor to Nayib Bukele, the current president of El Salvador. Bukele has previously worked as Nayib's campaign manager during his 2015 and 2019 electoral campaigns as well as the campaign manager for the Nuevas Ideas political party in 2021. In late-2023, Bukele was considered a likely candidate to succeed Nayib as acting president in the event that he resigned ahead of the 2024 general election, however, Bukele denied that he would succeed Nayib.
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