Elections in El Salvador

El Salvador
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Elections in El Salvador gives information on elections and election results in El Salvador.

Electoral system

El Salvador elects its head of state – the President of El Salvador – directly through a fixed-date general election whose winner is decided by absolute majority. If an absolute majority (50% + 1) is not achieved by any candidate in the first round of a presidential election, then a run-off election is conducted 30 days later between the two candidates who obtained the most votes in the first round. The presidential period is five years. Consecutive re-election is not permitted, though previously elected presidents may run for a second, non-consecutive term.

Salvadorans also elect a single-chamber, unicameral national legislature – the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador – composed of 84 members (deputies). They are elected by open-list proportional representation for three-year terms, with the possibility of immediate re-election. All 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly are elected on the basis of 14 multi-member constituencies (corresponding to El Salvador's 14 departments). They range from 3-16 seats each according to department population size.

Political culture

El Salvador has a multi-party system. Two political parties, the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) have tended to dominate elections. ARENA candidates won four consecutive presidential elections until the election of Mauricio Funes of the FMLN in March 2009.

Geographically, the departments of the Central region, especially the capital and the coastal regions, known as departamentos rojos, or red departments, are relatively Leftist. The departamentos azules, or blue departments in the east, western and highland regions are relatively conservative.

Schedule

Election

Inauguration

Latest elections

  Summary of the 10 March 2012 Salvadoran Legislative Assembly election results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Nationalist Republican Alliance (Alianza Republicana Nacionalista)	870,418	39.76%	33	1
	Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional)	804,760	36.76%	31	4
	Grand Alliance for National Unity (Alianza por la Unidad Nacional)	210,101	9.6%	11	11
	National Coalition (Concertación Nacional)1	157,074	7.18%	74	4
	Party of Hope (Partido de la Esperanza)2	60,486	2.76%	14	4
	Democratic Change (Cambio Democrático)	46,838	2.14%	1	0
	National Liberal Party (Partido Nacional Liberal)	14,379	0.66%	0	0
	People's Party (Partido Popular)	10,952	0.50%	0	0
	Independents3	14,098	0.63%	0	0
Totals		2,215,589	100.00%	84	—
1Compared to National Conciliation Party in 2009. 2Compared to Christian Democratic Party in 2009. 3Five independent candidates. Percentage and votes are cumulative. 4A MP from Chalatenango that won, ran on a joint CN and PES ticket and got 17,072 votes, or 0.78% (counted here for CN). Source: Supreme Electoral Tribunal

See also

• Politics of El Salvador

References

Elections in El Salvador
Presidential elections	1915 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1939 1944 1945 1950 1956 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014
Parliamentary elections	1928 1931 1932 1936 1939 1944 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1961 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1982 1985 1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2015
Local elections	2012 2015
See also: Elections in the Federal Republic of Central America

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