The electoral process in El Salvador has been met with controversy and concerns of irregularities as the vote-by-vote count gets underway. While President Nayib Bukele's re-election victory is undisputed, attention is now focused on the results of the legislative elections and the fight for the 60 seats in Congress.
Control of Congress is essential for Bukele as he seeks to continue his ongoing battle against gangs in El Salvador and implement his agenda. The president's Nuevas Ideas party claimed an overwhelming victory, stating that they had secured 58 out of the 60 congressional seats. However, this declaration was made with only a fraction of the count made public, leading to doubts and calls for scrutiny.
The integrity of the vote count has come under scrutiny due to several irregularities and glitches, including the collapse of the system transmitting results. In response to the chaos, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal has called for a manual recount of both the legislative and part of the presidential election votes.
Opposition parties, such as the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), have expressed their intention to demand the nullification of the congressional election results. They argue that the numbers presented by Bukele's party do not add up, suggesting potential fraud. Critics cite the FMLN's unpopularity stemming from years of corruption and failed promises as a possible motivation for these claims.
Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party's dominance in congress, coupled with a friendly court that they have stacked, enabled Bukele to bypass a constitutional ban on re-election. Opposition groups and electoral analysts argue that recent electoral reforms carried out by the ruling party have further tilted the odds in Bukele's favor, particularly in legislative and local elections.
Bukele himself had expressed concerns about the outcome of the legislative elections prior to the vote. In a video widely circulated on social media, he warned that if his party loses seats in Congress, it could lead to the opposition achieving their goal of releasing gang members and regaining power.
Other opposition parties, including Nuestro Tiempo, VAMOS, and the conservative National Republican Alliance (Arena), have echoed the concerns raised by the FMLN regarding the vote count. They too are considering requesting the nullification of the results, pending a response from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal regarding the irregularities.
While the parties have not formally submitted requests to annul the results, their priority at the moment is ensuring an accurate count. Electoral magistrate Noel Orellana has emphasized the importance of opening the ballot boxes and counting every vote. The final vote count will be closely supervised by representatives from the political parties, electoral prosecutors, the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, and national and international observers.
As the vote-by-vote count takes place and the controversy surrounding the election results continues, El Salvador's democratic process is being closely watched. The outcome of this scrutiny will determine not only the composition of Congress but also the direction in which the nation's governance will head in the coming years.
