2024 Salvadoran general election

2024 Salvadoran general election
General elections will be held in El Salvador on 4 February 2024 to elect the president, vice president and all 60 deputies of the Legislative Assembly. This will be followed by a second set of elections on 3 March 2024 in which voters will elect all 44 mayors and municipal councils of the country's municipalities and all 20 of El Salvador's deputies to the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN). If necessary, a second presidential round will be held on the same date if no candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote in the first round.
Thirteen political parties are allowed by the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) to participate in the election. Seven parties have presented presidential candidates; incumbent president Nayib Bukele is running for re-election with Nuevas Ideas, the political party he established in 2018, while the presidential candidates presented by the political opposition are Joel Sánchez of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), Manuel Flores of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), Luis Parada of Nuestro Tiempo, Javier Renderos of Solidarity Force, and Marina Murillo of the Salvadoran Patriotic Fraternity (FPS). Additionally, the Salvadoran Independent Party (PAIS) selected José Cardoza as its presidential candidate, but his candidacy was rejected by the TSE in October 2023. Twelve parties will participate in the legislative and municipal elections, while ten will participate in the PARLACEN election. Parties had until 20 July 2023 to hold their primary elections, until 7 August 2023 to form presidential and legislative coalitions, and until 4 September 2023 to form municipal and PARLACEN coalitions. Opinion polling indicates significant leads for Nuevas Ideas in the presidential, legislative, and municipal elections, as well as high support for Bukele's re-election.
In September 2021, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled that the incumbent president could run for immediate re-election, overturning a 2014 ruling which reaffirmed that re-election was prohibited and despite the country's constitution prohibited immediate re-election. In September 2022, Bukele officially announced that he was running for re-election. In June 2023, Bukele officially registered as a presidential candidate for Nuevas Ideas, and in July 2023, Nuevas Ideas formally confirmed Bukele as its presidential candidate. Various lawyers, journalists, and opposition politicians have criticized Bukele's re-election bid as authoritarian and unconstitutional, while many Salvadorans—both inside and outside the country—support his campaign. In October 2022, the Legislative Assembly passed a law which would allow Salvadoran expatriates to vote in the election. Several opposition politicians have criticized the decision, claiming that it would lead to electoral fraud. In December 2022, Bukele suggested reducing the number of municipalities. In June 2023, he officially presented his proposals to the Legislative Assembly to reduce the number of municipalities from 262 to 44 and the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly from 84 to 60; both proposals were approved by the Legislative Assembly that same month. The reductions were criticized by lawyers, economists, and opposition politicians as gerrymandering, undemocratic, and an attempt to consolidate the government's power.
Political background
Presidency of Nayib Bukele
Nayib Bukele, the former mayor of San Salvador, won the 2019 Salvadoran presidential election with 53 percent of the vote. He ran under the banner of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), making him the first president since José Napoleón Duarte (1984–1989) to not be a member of one of the country's two largest political parties: the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). Bukele's election is considered to be one of the most impactful events in Salvadoran political history, as many politicians and journalists have described it as breaking the country's two-party system.
Throughout his presidency, Bukele's government has been described as authoritarian and autocratic, resulting in what many have described as democratic backsliding. His COVID-19 lockdowns were criticized when more than 4,200 people were arrested by the National Civil Police. In February 2020, he was criticized for sending 40 soldiers into the Legislative Assembly to pressure lawmakers to approve a US$109 million loan to fund the Territorial Control Plan, a security program initiated by Bukele, in what critics described as an attempted coup d'état. In September 2020, El Faro accused Bukele of negotiating with criminal gangs in the country, notably Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street gang, to lower crime rates. Bukele and his government have denied those accusations. The United States government has labeled various Bukele government officials as being corrupt.
In the 2021 legislative election, Nuevas Ideas, the political party Bukele established, won supermajorities in the Legislative Assembly, municipalities, and the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN). The 13th session of the Legislative Assembly assumed office on 1 May 2022, and Ernesto Castro was elected as the president of the Legislative Assembly. Following Castro's election, the 64 deputies representing Nuevas Ideas, GANA, the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), and the National Coalition Party (PCN) voted to remove Attorney General Raúl Melara and five Supreme Court justices from the constitutional court. A new attorney general and new justices were later appointed by Bukele in what has since been described as a self-coup.
Following a spike in murders in March 2022, Bukele's government began a gang crackdown, referred to as a state of exception and a war against gangs, which has resulted in the reported arrests of 71,976 alleged gang members and 144 to 152 deaths in custody . The crackdown, which has been extended seventeen times by the Legislative Assembly, has been accused of engaging in arbitrary arrests, torture, and human rights abuses by organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. On 3 January 2023, Minister of Defense René Merino Monroy announced that 496 homicides were registered in 2022, a decrease from 1,147 homicides in 2021; Merino attributed the decrease to the gang crackdown. Politicians from ARENA, the FMLN, and Nuestro Tiempo have described the crackdown as a political and electoral strategy to support the government and intimidate the opposition.
Despite controversies and negative press coverage, Bukele remains extremely popular with approval ratings consistently hovering between 80 and 90percent. He is considered to be one of the most popular presidents in El Salvador's history, as well as one of the most popular incumbent Latin American heads of state.
Presidential re-election controversy
On 3 September 2021, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled that the president of El Salvador is eligible to run for re-election consecutively, discarding a 2014 ruling that required presidents to wait ten years before running for re-election. The 2021 court ruling made Bukele eligible to run for president in 2024. Despite protests from ARENA and the FMLN, the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) accepted the Supreme Court's ruling. The United States embassy to El Salvador was critical of the Supreme Court's ruling, stating that it "undermines democracy", and Chargé d'Affaires Jean Elizabeth Manes compared the path the Salvadoran government was taking to that of Venezuela under Hugo Chávez. On 1 March 2023, four of the five members of the Supreme Court's Constitutional Chamber confirmed that presidential re-election is allowed.
During a speech on the country's 201st anniversary of independence from Spain on 15 September 2022, Bukele officially announced his re-election campaign. Bukele justified his re-election bid by arguing that most developed countries allow re-election; he read a list of 39 countries considered to be developed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and stated that all the countries on the list except for South Korea allowed re-election. He also claimed that restrictions on re-election only exists in Third World countries. According to Bukele, a developed country criticizing his announcement would be hypocritical. On 25 June 2023, Bukele officially registered his pre-candidacy for the presidency with Nuevas Ideas, and on 9 July 2023, Nuevas Ideas officially elected Bukele as its presidential candidate.
If Bukele wins re-election, he would be the first person since General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (in office 1931–1934 and 1935–1944) to be re-elected and serve multiple terms as president. Additionally, he is the first president since Antonio Saca (served 2004–2009) to seek re-election. Bukele has been compared to Juan Orlando Hernández in Honduras and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, who used the Supreme Court and constitutional reforms, respectively, in their own countries to allow themselves to run for re-election. According to a poll conducted by the Francisco Gavidia University (UFG) in October 2022, 76 percent of respondents believed that if Bukele were re-elected in 2024, he would run for a third term in the 2029 presidential election.
Criticism and opposition to re-election
Bukele's announcement that he was running for re-election was criticized by constitutional lawyers, who said his re-election would be unconstitutional and in violation of at least four articles of El Salvador's constitution. Following Bukele's registration as a presidential pre-candidate, Eduardo Escobar, the executive director of the Citizen Action non-governmental organization, stated that "everything is unconstitutional and they are only trying to give a face of legitimacy to everything with these articles" (""). Manuel Flores, then a presidential pre-candidate of the FMLN, stated that "the law is the law [and] the law says that there is no re-election" (""), adding that the constitution is "clear" ("") in prohibiting re-election. Citizen Resistance politician Rubén Zamora stated that the Legislative Assembly had to suspend Bukele's rights as a Salvadoran citizen in accordance with the constitution for registering as a pre-candidate for presidential re-election. Both Zamora and Claudia Ortiz argued that immediate re-election is prohibited by articles 75, 88, 131, 152, 154, and 248 of the country's constitution. Foreign news media outlets, such as Agence France-Presse, the BBC and RT en Español, have also published articles stating that re-election was unconstitutional.
Vice President Félix Ulloa, who supports Bukele's re-election bid, has suggested that Bukele should seek a license or express permission from the Supreme Court six months before the election. In April 2023, Ulloa stated that Bukele was seeking a "second mandate" ("") rather than re-election, adding that while immediate re-election was prohibited by the constitution, a second mandate was not. Some politicians, including Ulloa, have also suggested that Bukele should resign six months before the election to be able to legally pursue re-election, but according to constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya, resignation would remove Bukele's legal immunity and allow him to be prosecuted for alleged corruption and human rights violations, while other constitutional lawyers state that his re-election campaign would be unconstitutional regardless. Ulloa and Nuevas Ideas deputy Christian Guevara have stated that both Bukele and Ulloa will resign before 1 December 2023, six months before their second inauguration should they win re-election, and that a successor will be designated as president.
On 1 May 2023, 36 left-wing organizations—including the FMLN and Nuestro Tiempo—held a protest march in commemoration of International Workers' Day against Bukele's re-election campaign and the gang crackdown. The protestors also demanded an increase of minimum wage from US$365 to US$500, the respect of workers' rights, and the release of innocent people captured during the gang crackdown. On 20 July 2023, the National Opposition Union (UNO) civil movement filed a lawsuit and petitioned the TSE and the Supreme Court of Justice to prohibit Bukele from seeking re-election and to declare his campaign unconstitutional. The TSE rejected UNO's petition on 18 August 2023, and UNO has stated that it will appeal the TSE's rejection. UNO is also considering filing a lawsuit against Bukele's re-election with the International Court of Justice, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the Organization of American States (OAS). On 16 August 2023, the Sumar por El Salvador civil movement asked the TSE to reject Bukele's candidacy, telling the court to "comply with the Constitution and reject the registration of those who intend to do so despite the evident constitutional prohibition" (""). On 18 August 2023, the Doctors for a Living Wage in El Salvador trade union stated that it would consider holding a strike against Bukele's re-election campaign.
On 15 September 2023, various organizations and civil movements held another protest march against re-election. The march traveled from the Rosales Hospital to the Gerardo Barrios Plaza. According to Francisco Omar Parada, a spokesman for the Resistance and Popular Rebellion Bloc, the march protested presidential re-election, the reductions of municipalities and seats on the Legislative Assembly, the "destruction" ("") of democratic institutions, and the "illegal control" ("") exerted by the presidency, the judiciary, the office of the attorney general, and other state institutions. The march's motto was "no to re-election, not one day more" (""). The presidential candidates for ARENA, the FMLN, and Nuestro Tiempo participated in the protest, as did various opposition deputies of the Legislative Assembly.
On 23 October 2023, Nuestro Tiempo submitted a formal request to the TSE to not register Bukele's candidacy. Similarly, on 25 October 2023, Abraham Ábrego, the director of strategic litigation for Cristosal, a non-governmental organization based in El Salvador and in other Central American countries, asked the TSE to "respect the law" ("") and not register Bukele's candidacy. On 27 October 2023, the day after Bukele began the process of registering his presidential candidacy, Nuestro Tiempo submitted another request to reject Bukele's candidacy. That same day, ARENA also submitted a similar request asking the TSE to reject Bukele's candidacy on constitutional grounds. On 30 October 2023, Luis Parada, Nuestro Tiempo's presidential candidate, called for the resignations of TSE magistrates who would register Bukele's candidacy and warned that registering Bukele's candidacy would led to "another armed conflict" ("").
Allegations of fraud
In August 2022, Bukele criticized the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's execution of a search warrant on Mar-a-Lago as hypocritical. He tweeted, "What would the US Government say, if OUR police raided the house of one of the main possible contenders of OUR 2024 presidential election?" Following Trump's indictment in March 2023 regarding a 2018 political scandal, Bukele made two tweets stating "imagine if this happened to a leading opposition presidential candidate here in El Salvador" and "sadly, it'll be very hard for US Foreign Policy to use arguments such as 'democracy' and 'free and fair elections', or try to condemn 'political persecution' in other countries, from now on".
On 18 January 2023, the Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to increase the criminal penalty for electoral fraud to 15–20 years in prison, higher than the previous penalty of 4–6 years. Additionally, if the individual was a gang member, the penalty was increased further to 20–30 years imprisonment. On 16 February 2023, the Legislative Assembly passed a law making it illegal to impede the registration process for electoral candidates. According to the updated penal code, impeding a candidate's registration process is legally considered electoral fraud and would result in 6–20 years imprisonment. Lawyers and electoral experts alleged that the updated law would be used against those who opposed Bukele's re-election campaign; Eduardo Escobar and Ruth Eleonora López, the chief of Cristosal's anti-corruption committee, claimed that it was intimidation and a threat.
In addition to the (DUI; the primary identity document for Salvadorans), TSE magistrates and Dora Martínez de Barahona have suggested using biometrics, specifically fingerprinting, to ensure election security. The Office for the Defense of Human Rights, a Salvadoran governmental agency, will be an observer for the 2024 elections. In March 2023, Votante, a voter's initiative created by five Salvadoran civil society organizations, petitioned the TSE to allow the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the European Union (EU) to monitor the elections. On 26 March 2023, the TSE began the process of accepting international observers to monitor the election. The TSE expects that almost 5,800 national and international observers will be monitoring the election. In September 2023, the TSE officially offered the OAS and the EU to monitor the 2024 election process; the OAS accepted the TSE's offer while the EU stated that it would support the electoral process. In October 2023, the TSE announced that it had signed an agreement with the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education to audit the expatriate electronic voting process and another agreement with CGTS Corp. Inc. to audit the both the expatriate electronic voting process and the expatriate electoral registry.
According to an opinion poll conducted by UFG in May and June 2023, 62.8 percent of Salvadorans believed the elections would be "clean and transparent" (""), 25 percent had doubts about the election's legitimacy, and 9.7 percent believed there would be fraud.
Alleged political party fraud
As per the Law of Political Parties, the TSE did not monitor the political parties' primary elections for irregularities.
In June 2023, some members of Nuevas Ideas claimed that there were irregularities present in the party's primary elections. They criticized that the party was presenting single-candidate primaries and promoting Bukele's family members for municipal races. On 1 July 2023, Nuevas Ideas' National Electoral Commission announced that it would open an internal investigation process to guarantee that the party's statutes and regulations were followed and that those who attempted to manipulate the electoral process would be punished and turned over to the country's legal system. On 31 July 2023, Nuevas Ideas suspended the legislative candidacy of Rebeca Santos after videos surfaced allegedly showing Santos' staffers soliciting party members for codes to vote in her favor.
On 30 June 2023, Mayra Zetizo, the mayor of Sacacoyo and a member of GANA, announced her departure from GANA, claiming that there was a lack of transparency and low confidence in the party's primary election process. Guillermo Gallegos, the vice president of GANA and a deputy of the Legislative Assembly, responded to Zetizo's announcement by stating that there were no irregularities within the party.
Alleged voting fraud
On 18 October 2022, the Legislative Assembly passed the Special Law for the Exercise of Suffrage Abroad, which allowed Salvadorans living outside of the country to vote electronically in the presidential and legislative elections, but not the municipal or PARLACEN elections. The TSE announced on 17 November 2022 that it would guarantee the right of Salvadorans abroad to vote in the 2024 election. According to the TSE, a total of 685,026 Salvadoran expatriates in 53 countries are eligible to vote in 2024 .
Zamora criticized the law, claiming that it was a "farce" ("") and would lead to voter fraud in the 2024 election. Ex-ARENA deputy Carlos Reyes, Vamos deputy Claudia Ortiz, and Nuestro Tiempo deputy John Wright also claimed that the law would allow the possibility of electoral fraud. Eduardo Escobar claimed that electronic voting would allow a high risk of manipulation. Other members of the FMLN, Vamos, and Nuestro Tiempo have claimed that there were "obstacles" ("") in the electoral registration process and a lack of transparency in the electronic voting process, particularly regarding expatriate voting.
In a November 2022 interview on , Castro rejected the notion that fraud would occur in the expatriate voting process. In June 2023, ARENA deputy Ricardo Godoy claimed that the TSE was inflating the number of eligible expatriate voters, stating that "it appears that they have the results of the vote of the diaspora already prepared" (""). He argued that the number of expatriate voters had been "growing exponentially" ("") from 300,000 to over 1 million. The TSE explained the changing number by stating that it "did not have all the information" ("").
Reduction of municipalities and legislative seats
Initial proposals, support, and criticism
On 30 December 2022, Bukele tweeted that he believed the country's 262 municipalities should be reduced to only 50, claiming that it was "absurd that 21,000 km2 are divided into 262 municipalities" ("").
Various economists and lawyers claimed that the proposed reduction was an attempt by Bukele to consolidate his power through gerrymandering, while opposition politicians claimed that the reduction could lead to data being manipulated in favor of the government. Claudia Ortiz stated that the reduction could be discussed after the country's 2023 census. López stated that Bukele's proposal "leads to another twist in the concentration of power and centralization of decisions" (""). Eduardo Escobar claimed that the goal was to favor Nuevas Ideas by eliminating votes for opposition candidates, stating that it is "an artificial manipulation of electoral constituencies in order to generate an advantage" (""). Eugenio Chicas, a former magistrate of the TSE, denounced the idea, claiming that it was a part of Bukele's "political vision" ("") to consolidate a military dictatorship.
Mario Durán, the mayor of San Salvador, supported Bukele's proposal to reduce the number of municipalities. Gallegos also expressed his support, adding that he believed the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly should also be reduced. Gallegos said, "If re-election is possible, we can make all these changes" (""). Vice President Félix Ulloa supported reducing the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly, suggesting decreasing it from 84 to 50. In February 2023, Castro confirmed that Nuevas Ideas was evaluating a proposal to reduce the number of deputies on the Legislative Assembly from 84 to 64 and the number of municipalities from 252 to 50.
Wright described the proposal to reduce the number of deputies as "extremely irresponsible" ("") for occurring within one year of the election. Claudia Ortiz criticized the announcement, stating the proposed reforms could help Nuevas Ideas form a one-party state. She also argued that the time to make electoral reforms had passed and that the changes would be in violation of the electoral code, referring to Article 291-A, which prohibits electoral reforms up to one year before an election. The Legislative Assembly voted to repeal Article 291-A on 15 March 2023. Regarding the article's repeal, ARENA deputy René Portillo Cuadra described it as unconstitutional. The Washington Office on Latin America, a United States non-governmental organization, stated it was "the latest backstep in the country" and that it "opens the door to a myriad of changes in the electoral process". It called for the EU and the OAS to "pay close attention" to the election and its process.
In February 2023, GANA deputy Numan Salgado supported the proposal and claimed that the country's population would support the reduction in deputies and municipalities. According to a poll conducted by the Francisco Gavidia University that month, around 48.5 percent of Salvadorans erroneously believed that El Salvador was already divided into only 50 municipalities. According to a poll conducted by Fundaungo in March 2023, 48.8 percent of Salvadorans supported reducing the number of municipalities, while 44.2 opposed it. Meanwhile, 80.2 percent supported reducing the number of legislative seats, while only 16.4 opposed it. A May 2023 poll conducted by UFG found that 66.4 percent supported the reduction of municipalities while 39.4 percent opposed it. A later poll conducted by Fundaungo in September 2023 found that 66.9 percent of Salvadorans supported the reduction of municipalities while 27.4 percent opposed it.
Approval by the Legislative Assembly
On 1 June 2023 during a speech celebrating his fourth year in office, Bukele formally proposed legislation to reduce the number of municipalities from 262 to 44 and the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly from 84 to 60. Regarding the municipal reduction, he stated that the present municipalities would be transformed into districts, adding that municipal employees would keep their jobs and that communities would still be able to celebrate their local traditions and customs. Bukele argued that the reduction would also reduce the budgetary burden on the municipalities, make a "more equitable" ("") distribution of taxation possible, and make electing and auditing mayors easier.
Regarding the legislative reduction, he stated that the number of seats would return to the amount present before the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accords in 1992. He criticized politicians of the opposition, stating "this Assembly once had 60 deputies, it did not occur to this Government, that those in the corner do not like this announcement because ARENA and the FMLN in that farce they signed added 24 more deputies and it was the only thing that they completed in those 'peace accords'" ("").
Following Bukele's proposals, Wright stated "in these four years, the authoritarian project of President Bukele has advanced without major obstacles, while democracy and our institutions deteriorate" (""). ARENA stated that the reductions are a "tactic to swing the electoral field in their favor [...] [to] reduce the incidence of minority parties" ("") Claudia Ortiz stated that the reduction of municipalities was to benefit the mayors of Nuevas Ideas which have done a "very bad job" ("") since their election in 2021. Marleni Funes claimed that Bukele wants to guarantee his "hegemony" (")" on power and that every Salvadoran knows that fewer resources would arrive when the municipalities are reduced. Óscar Ortiz, the secretary-general of the FMLN, described the proposals as "institutional fraud" ("") for occurring during the lead up to the 2024 election.
On 7 June 2023, the Legislative Assembly voted to approve the proposal to reduce the number of seats in the legislature with 66 deputies voting in favor. Anabel Belloso, a deputy of the FMLN, claimed that the purpose of the legislative reduction was to "continue concentrating power [and] concentrating resources", and other opposition figures have argued that the reduction would diminish the political participation of smaller parties. Meanwhile, GANA deputy Romeo Aüerbach dismissed that the reductions would affect the representation of smaller parties. Claudia Ortiz and ARENA deputy César Reyes claimed that the reduction were to assure and concentrate more power for Nuevas Ideas.
On 13 June 2023, the Legislative Assembly voted to approve the proposal to reduce the number of municipalities with 67 deputies voting in favor. The reductions will go into effect on 1 May 2024. López described the process of reducing municipalities as having been conducted in an "arbitrary and whimsical" ("") manner, and argued that the reductions would distance the municipal governments from the people they govern. Portillo Cuadra described the reductions as "counterproductive" ("") as it would assign mayors to oversee more people in each municipality. Wright claimed that the reductions would concentrate power to fewer people and that municipal representation was becoming "less democratic" (""). He claimed that the municipal reductions were electoral objectives rather than a desire to promote development or save money, questioning the lack of studies conducted to determine that the 262 municipalities should be reduced to 44.
In response to the opposition's criticism, Castro claimed that the political opposition was becoming desperate because the country was returning to a "fair system" (""). Following the vote, Bukele tweeted that the country was making history. José Luis Escobar Alas, the Roman Catholic archbishop of San Salvador, expressed his approval that the municipal reductions would not result in the loss of local traditions and customs, but stated that he wanted more transparency regarding the allocation of resources to the municipalities.
On 17 August 2023, the El Salvador National Alliance in Peace challenged the constitutionality of the reduction of municipalities to the Supreme Court of Justice, arguing that the Legislative Assembly did not have the jurisdiction to reduce the number of municipalities.
Electoral system
Election procedure
General elections are scheduled to be held in El Salvador five years after the 2019 presidential election and three years after the 2021 legislative election. The president, vice president, 60 deputies of the Legislative Assembly, 44 mayors and municipal councils of the country's municipalities (second-level subdivisions), and 20 deputies of the Central American Parliament will be elected through a popular vote. The constitution of El Salvador mandates that the election will be "free, direct, equal and secret". On 11 August 2022, the Supreme Electoral Court announced that the elections for the presidency, vice presidency, and the Legislative Assembly will be held on Sunday, 4 February 2024, and that the elections for the 44 municipalities, the Central American Parliament, and a potential second presidential round will be held on Sunday, 3 March 2024. The TSE will ratify the results of the presidential election by 20 February 2024 if a second round is not necessary.
In the presidential election, a candidate needs an absolute majority (50%+1) to be declared the winner of the election. If no candidate receives an absolute majority, a second round between the two candidates with the most valid votes will occur within thirty days of the first round. Deputies of the Legislative Assembly are elected by the D'Hondt method, while mayors and municipal council members and deputies of the Central American Parliament are elected by open list proportional representation. The 60 deputies of the Legislative Assembly will be elected in 14 constituencies for the country's 14 departments (first-level subdivisions), the 44 mayors and municipal councils will be elected in one constituency each, and the 20 deputies of the Central American Parliament will be elected from one nationwide constituency.
Presidential and vice presidential candidates must be at least 30 years old, legislative candidates must be at least 25 years old, and municipal candidates must be at least 21 years old. All candidates must be Salvadoran citizens by birth. Per article 38 of the Law of Political Parties, at least 30 percent of a party's total candidates for the legislative, municipal, and PARLACEN elections must be women.
In addition to the 60 deputies elected to the Legislative Assembly and the 20 deputies elected to PARLACEN (referred to as proprietary deputies), an additional 60 substitute deputies will be elected to the Legislative Assembly and 20 substitute deputies will be elected to PARLACEN. Each of the 44 municipalities will elect 1 mayor and a varying number of members to the municipal council. Each municipal council will consist of 1 trustee, 4 proprietary aldermen, and 4 substitute alderman, however, two municipalities will elect 8 proprietary alderman and two more will elect 10 proprietary alderman. In total, 624 people will be elected to hold public office in the 2024 elections, a decrease from 3,206 in 2021.
A total of 1,595 voting centers will be available across the country. Electronic voting for Salvadoran expatriates is scheduled to begin on 6 January 2024; expatriates will be able to vote at 81 voting centers in 60 of the country's embassies and consulates in 30 countries; Salvadorans in 22 countries will be unable to vote accounting for 42 eligible voters.
Election financing
In December 2022, TSE magistrate Noel Orellana estimated that it would cost between US$25 and 30 million to finance the expatriate vote for the 2024 election, but later revised the estimate to US$120 million. In February 2023, the TSE announced that the expatriate vote would cost US$70.6 million and the national election would cost US$89 million, for a total cost of US$159.7 million for the 2024 election. In March 2023, the TSE reduced its estimate to US$129.3 million and formally requested that amount from the Legislative Assembly. The Legislative Assembly approved the TSE's request on 15 March 2023, making the 2024 election the most expensive election in Salvadoran history.
On 10 June 2023, the TSE announced that it came to an agreement with the El Salvador Products and Services Exchange (BOLPROS) regarding procurement procedures for the election. BOLPROS was involved with 81 percent of the purchases during the 2021 legislative election, including the acquisition of table technology and laptops. On 20 June 2023, the TSE announced that it had signed an inter-institutional cooperation agreement with the National Charity Lottery (LNB) regarding the verification of financial information of political parties. Through the agreement, the TSE will be able to contrast the financial information presented by the political parties, with the data handled by the LNB. On 29 June 2023, the TSE announced that it had contracted Spanish company Indra Solutions to implement electronic voting. On 20 July 2023, the TSE signed an agreement with the National Civil Police to provide security during the election process.
Political parties
Political parties must be registered with the TSE to be able to participate in elections. The following table shows the thirteen political parties which are eligible to participate in the 2024 election.
Additionally, various civil movements attempted to register with the TSE to gain political party status and to run in the 2024 election. Such civil movements included Citizen Power, the Authentic Republican Movement, the Authentic Salvadoran Movement (MAS), We Shall Construct a New El Salvador, the Salvadoran Veteran Party, Somos, and i. Citizen Power announced its primary elections in March 2023, but the TSE disregarded the announcement as invalid as they were not registered to participate in the 2024 election. In mid-April 2023, the party turned in 50,000 signatures to the TSE to be registered as a political party. MAS abandoned its efforts to register in early-April 2023. In late-2022, Paul Monroy, the leader of i, announced the movement abandoned its efforts to register with the TSE.
Registered voters
Salvadoran citizens over the age of 18 living in El Salvador had until 7 August 2023 to register to vote, while those living outside of the country have until 5 November 2023 to register. Salvadorans in the country had until 3 April 2023 to change their address of residency on their Unique Identity Document, while those living abroad have until 5 November 2023. Guillermo Wellman, a magistrate of the TSE, has stated that individuals arrested during the country's gang crackdown would be ineligible to vote. In the legislative election, votes cast from outside of the country will be counted towards selecting deputies in the department of San Salvador.
The following table lists the number of registered voters for the 2024 election in all fourteen departments and outside of the country, as well as the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly and number of municipalities assigned to each department. The figures, as published by the TSE, are accurate .
Presidency
Nominated candidates
Six political parties confirmed their 2024 presidential and vice presidential candidates.
Rejected candidates
One party has had its presidential and vice presidential candidates rejected by the TSE.
Withdrawn candidates
Gerardo Awad, 2019 ARENA presidential pre-candidate
Jaime Zavaleta
Declined candidates
Claudia Ortiz, deputy of the Legislative Assembly (2021–present)
Mario Vega, senior pastor of Misión Cristiana Elim Internacional (1997–present)
Parliament
Nuevas Ideas held a majority in the 13th Legislative Assembly; GANA, the PDC, and the PCN supported Nuevas Ideas' government. The opposition consisted of ARENA, the FMLN, Nuestro Tiempo, and Vamos. Within the Central American Parliament, the fifteen deputies from Nuevas Ideas and GANA belong to the Center-Democratic Integration Group, the four deputies from ARENA and the PCN belong to the Integrationist Democratic Unity, and the sole FMLN deputy belongs to the Parliamentary Group of the Left.
Since the 2021 legislative election, three deputies and twenty-two mayors from ARENA have left the party and become independents, as have eleven mayors from the FMLN, and one deputy and two mayors from GANA.
Retiring deputies
Sixteen incumbent deputies of the Legislative Assembly will not be running for re-election in 2024 due to them choosing to run for another office, being eliminated during their party's primary elections, being suspended by their party prior to the election, or them choosing to not seek public office in 2024.
Electoral campaign
The TSE mandated that the parties had to announce their internal party leadership elections and 2024 primary elections by 5 March 2023. The TSE initially mandated that the parties had hold their primary elections by 5 July 2023, but after the Legislative Assembly voted to reduce the number of municipalities in June 2023, the TSE delayed the deadline to hold primary elections until 20 July 2023. Political parties had until 7 August 2023 to register presidential and legislative coalitions. Parties had until 4 September 2023 to form municipal and PARLACEN coalitions. In total, there are 7 presidential candidates, 7 vice presidential candidates, 313 legislative candidates, 202 municipal candidates, and 80 PARLACEN candidates. According to Citizen Action, only 67,415—or 26.4 percent—of registered political party members voted in the country's primary elections, the lowest percentage since the organization has been keeping track of this statistic since the 2015 primary elections.
The TSE will regulate campaigning on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram, but it will not regulate campaigning outside of the country. The following table lists the electoral registration and campaigning periods as defined by the TSE.
Prior to the beginning of the campaign period, some Nuevas Ideas politicians began to promote their electoral campaigns on Twitter and others purchased online advertising through Google Ads. López criticized the campaigns as illegal by arguing they violated article 172 of the electoral code. Legal experts and opposition politicians have also accused Nuevas Ideas of "promoting the figure of Nayib Bukele" ("") ahead of the 3 October 2023 campaigning period for presidential candidates, and have called on the TSE to take action against the supposed early campaigns being undertaken by Nuevas Ideas. On 22 September 2023, Andy Failer, the leader of Nuestro Tiempo, filed a complaint with the TSE accusing Gallegos and GANA of coordinating an early campaign for posting a video on Twitter portraying Failer's comments about the gang crackdown in a negative light. In October 2023, the TSE stated that it was investigating 20 to 25 cases of early campaigns.
Nuevas Ideas
In February 2023, Castro stated that Nuevas Ideas aimed to win 70 seats in the Legislative Assembly and that the party did not intend to join a coalition with any other party. Following the reduction of municipalities and legislative seats, Castro stated that Nuevas Ideas expected to win all 44 municipalities and all 60 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Castro's revised projections were criticized by opposition leaders; Claudia Ortiz described the projections as "undemocratic" (""), Wright claimed that Nuevas Ideas was "consolidating a dictatorship" (""), and Belloso stated that the party was seeking to "concentrate power" ("").
Nuevas Ideas deputies have held events in the United States to meet Salvadoran expatriates and support Bukele's re-election campaign. Eduardo Escobar claimed the events were illegal according to the constitution's rules about the promotion of candidates. , Nuevas Ideas has held five such events in Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Uniondale, and Washington, D.C. On 1 June 2023 when Bukele gave a speech to the Legislative Assembly to celebrate his fourth year in office, a group of Bukele's supporters were present inside the Legislative Assembly. They held signs with "#Nayib2024" written on them and banners supporting Bukele's re-election. The supporters also cheered for Bukele and the Nuevas Ideas deputies, booed deputies from the opposition, and yelled chants supportive of re-election.
On 25 June 2023, Bukele and Ulloa officially registered their pre-candidacies with Nuevas Ideas for president and vice president, respectively. In a tweet announcing their registrations, Nuevas Ideas stated that "New Ideas are invincible". The party originally scheduled its primary elections for 2 July 2023, but after the reduction of the municipalities was approved, the party delayed its primaries until 9 July 2023. According to Castro, the majority of Nuevas Ideas deputies are seeking re-election. On 9 July 2023, Nuevas Ideas formalized Bukele and Ulloa's presidential and vice presidential campaigns. They ran unopposed and won 44,398 votes. During the primaries, 60 legislative candidates, 44 municipal candidates, and 20 PARLACEN candidates were also confirmed. Nuevas Ideas formed one municipal coalition with GANA for San Miguel Centro and two municipal coalitions with Democratic Change for Sonsonate Oeste and Santa Ana Norte.
Nuevas Ideas officially registered all 60 legislative candidates in 14 departments and all 20 PARLACEN candidates with the TSE on 20 October 2023, meanwhile, Bukele registered his candidacy with the TSE on 26 October 2023, the last possible day to do so. After Bukele initiated the registration process, he addressed a crowd of supporters outside the TSE building who were chanting phrases such as "five more [years] (""), "re-election" (""), and "not one step back" ("").
Bukele has called on his supporters to win a three-fourths majority for Nuevas Ideas in the Legislative Assembly in order to allow him to maintain the gang crackdown during his second term. Bukele has stated that he is willing to work with the international community as long as they respect El Salvador as a partner rather than as subservient, adding that El Salvador can "change" ("").
Nationalist Republican Alliance
In December 2022, Carlos García Saade, the president of ARENA, stated that ARENA sought to attain the "maximum number" ("") of deputies and mayors, adding in May 2023 that the party sought to win more than 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly and more than 125 municipalities. After the reduction of municipalities and legislative seats, García Saade stated that the party sought to win at least 25 deputies and the Legislative Assembly and 30 municipalities.
On 26 October 2022, García Saade announced that the party would not join a coalition with the FMLN to defeat Bukele in the 2024 election. He stated that joining forces with the FMLN would "deteriorate both parties" (""), and that he wanted ARENA to be the alternative for Salvadorans who oppose Bukele. Although he ruled out a coalition with the FMLN, he was still open to forming a coalition with other parties. At an event inaugurating the party's elected leadership on 26 March 2023, García Saade stated that the party was seeking to form coalitions and that it was looking for someone to lead the country's opposition as an "alternative for El Salvador" (""). On 22 May 2023, the El Faro digital newspaper alleged that ARENA was in negotiations with the FMLN, Vamos, and Nuestro Tiempo to form a political coalition for the presidential election to oppose Bukele. ARENA leaders acknowledged that the party was involved in negotiations but denied that the party was forming a coalition, and García Saade confirmed that COENA had decided to not form any coalition. On 30 August 2023, ARENA deputy Marcela Villatoro stated that the party has not ruled out the possibility of a coalition with the FMLN to contest the municipal elections and other elections in the future.
On 15 June 2023, the Citizen Resistance civil movement proposed Joel Humberto Sánchez Maldonado, a Salvadoran businessman living in the United States, as a potential presidential candidate. Hardy García, the wife of Salvadoran Independent Party (PAIS) leader Roy García, was proposed to be his running mate. The proposal was supported by other civil movements, including the Authentic Salvadoran Movement, the Liberty Movement, the El Salvador Alliance in Peace, and the Association of the Salvadoran Chamber of Small and Medium Agricultural Producers. Miguel Fortín Magaña, the leader of Citizen Resistance, hoped that a political party would accept the movement's proposal and allow Sánchez to run under another party's banner. ARENA deputy César Reyes stated that Sánchez could be a "potential" ("") candidate to run under the banner of ARENA because he "represents that Salvadoran who has had to migrate from El Salvador due to difficult situations and today returns to try to become something more" (""). On 9 July 2023, ARENA officially announced that Sánchez would be the party's presidential candidate. Hardy García withdrew her vice presidential candidacy because she had received "threats" ("") and was replaced by Hilcia Bonilla, a businesswoman living in the United States.
The party was scheduled to hold its internal party leadership elections on 19 February 2023, but they were postponed to 26 February 2023 after the party's leadership stated there were problems in the electronic voting system. García Saade stated that ARENA would opt to vote with physical ballots rather than electronic ballots as a result; García Saade was re-elected as the party's president with 2,392 votes. ARENA's primary elections were originally scheduled to occur on 18 June 2023, but were later moved to 2 July 2023 then again to 9 July 2023, and finally to 16 July 2023. The registration period for primary candidates ended on 15 May 2023; García Saade stated that the names of presidential pre-candidates would not be disclosed for their safety, claiming that they were threatened by persons in government and by governmental institutions. On 16 July 2023, ARENA elected Sánchez and Bonilla as its presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively. The party also elected 42 municipal candidates and 60 deputy candidates to the Legislative Assembly. According to Citizen Action, ARENA stated that it would not disclose its entire list of candidates due to alleged threats made against its candidates for participating in the elections.
On 25 July 2023, Sánchez stated that he would be willing to renounce his presidential candidacy if it was "the decision of our country and our population" ("") in order for find a more "suitable" ("") candidate. Following the publication of a UFG opinion poll in late-August 2023 which listed Sánchez as having 4.3 percent support, Julia Evelyn Martínez, a former professor at the Central American University, stated that Sánchez was considering withdrawing his candidacy due to his low polling figures. In September 2023, García Saade stated that he believed that Sánchez will be able to win the presidency in the second round. ARENA began the process of registering Sánchez's and Bonilla's candidacies with the TSE on 9 October 2023. By 26 October 2023, party also began to register all of its 60 legislative candidates in all 14 departments.
Sánchez has stated that the state of exception "has to be stopped" (""), elaborating that it "opens the opportunity to carry out abuses, corruption, [and] influence peddling" (""). Sánchez promised to review economic, taxation, educational, and agricultural policies to determine which ones are succeeding and which are failing. He described the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender as "the worst decision [Bukele's] government could have made" (""), stating that it resulted in the International Monetary Fund refusing to support El Salvador and the government losing millions of dollars. Sánchez and Bonilla have stated that they would promote investment by "establishing our judicial system which works" (""), and Sánchez claimed that he was already in talks with potential unspecified investors. Sánchez supports restoring diplomatic relations with Taiwan as he believes that Taiwan was a "better ally" ("") than China, citing better exchange student programs and trade deals with the country before relations were severed in 2018. He opposes the reduction of municipalities, arguing that it would result in parts of the country being neglected by mayors. In October 2023, Sánchez announced that he would upload videos to TikTok which would make Salvadoran youths want to dance in support of his campaign.
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
Following the conclusion of the FMLN's 42nd Ordinary National Convention on 11 December 2022, Óscar Ortiz, the secretary-general of the FMLN, announced that the party would not join any coalition in the 2024 elections with Nuevas Ideas, or ARENA, or GANA, but the party would be open to forming coalitions with other parties. On 22 May 2023, El Faro alleged that the FMLN was in negotiations with ARENA, Vamos, and Nuestro Tiempo to form a political coalition for the presidential election to oppose Bukele. FMLN leaders acknowledged that the party was involved in negotiations but denied that the party was forming a coalition, and Óscar Ortiz reiterated that the party would not form a coalition with ARENA, GANA, or Nuevas Ideas. Jaime Guevara claimed that all the parties, except for the FMLN, were seeking to unify under a single presidential candidate. In July 2023, Ángel Monge, a member of the FMLN's political commission, stated that the FMLN would not form coalitions for the Legislative Assembly but would still consider forming coalitions for the municipal elections. In October 2023, Funes stated that the FMLN aimed to win 16 or 17 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
On 29 May 2023, Flores officially registered as a pre-candidate for the presidency; Werner Marroquín registered as Flores' running-mate. Flores was the party's only presidential pre-candidate to register, although Jaime Zavaleta expressed interest in securing the party's nomination. Flores confirmed that the FMLN would not form a coalition with ARENA or any right-wing political parties. The FMLN was open to forming a presidential coalition with Vamos, Nuestro Tiempo, and PAIS, but ultimately did not join any presidential coalition. In October 2023, Óscar Ortiz assured that the FMLN's candidates represented the "hope and future of the country" ("").
The party originally planned to hold its primary elections on 11 June 2023, but after the reduction of seats in the Legislative Assembly, its primaries were postponed to 2 July 2023 and then again to 16 July 2023. In April 2023, Flores asked the party to not select politicians with a "corrupt past" ("") during the primary elections. On 16 July 2023, Flores and Marroquín were officially elected as the FMLN's presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively. The party also elected 44 municipal candidates and 60 candidates for the Legislative Assembly from all fourteen departments. According to Citizen Action, the FMLN stated that it would not disclose its entire list of candidates due to alleged threats made against its candidates for participating in the elections. The FMLN initiated the process to register Flores' and Marroquín's candidacies with the TSE on 7 September 2023. On 7 October 2023, the TSE stated that it could not yet register the FMLN's candidates because both candidates' Court of Accounts of the Republic were not presented with updated photos, proof of solvency from the Ministry of Finance was not up to date, and membership forms lacked signatures and notary seals. On 23 October 2023, Flores assured that he had responded to the TSE's concerns. By 11 October 2023, the FMLN had begun the registration process for all its candidates to the Legislative Assembly in all 14 departments. On 28 October 2023, the FMLN began registering its municipal candidates from San Salvador.
In October 2023, Flores stated that he believed he will win the presidential election in the first round, making a second round irrelevant. In September 2023, Flores stated that, if elected, he would maintain the state of exception if the country's population is in support of it. He also stated that all criminals "will continue to stay in prison and we will pursue all criminals" (""). Regarding corruption, Flores stated that "corruption is not combatted, corruption is avoided [...] in my government, I will not present corrupt individuals to form part of by cabinet" (""). Flores has promised to invest US$30 million in the transportation sector and reduce the price of transportation fares for students by half, which would affect around 150,000 students in the country. Flores has promised to launch the "Zero Hunger" ("") initiative to combat hunger by investing US$60 million into building three "zero hunger supply centers" ("") which would distribute grain. Flores also proposed raising the minimum pension from US$50 per day to US$70 per day.
Grand Alliance for National Unity
In December 2022, Gallegos stated that the party sought to increase the amount of seats it has in the Legislative Assembly from 5 to 15. Before the reduction of municipalities of legislative seats, Gallegos stated that the party sought to increase its number of mayors from 34 to over 100. After the reductions of municipalities, Gallegos stated that GANA will seek to win 12 seats in the Legislative Assembly and 15 municipalities. Gallegos initially stating he would seek re-election to the Legislative Assembly, but then later stated that he was running for mayor of San Salvador Centro, and then again reverted his decision again stating that he would be seeking re-election to the Legislative Assembly.
Prior to Bukele's registration as a presidential pre-candidate with Nuevas Ideas on 26 June 2023, some GANA leaders believed that Bukele could seek re-election with GANA rather than Nuevas Ideas as he was initially elected in 2019 as a member of GANA. In July 2022, Gallegos stated that GANA would endorse Bukele's re-election campaign if he ran under the banner of another party instead of GANA. On 16 June 2023, Gallegos stated that GANA would not participate in the presidential election unless Bukele was the party's candidate. On 26 June 2023, Gallegos confirmed that GANA would not run a presidential or vice presidential candidate, stating that the party supports Bukele's re-election campaign.
The party originally planned to hold its primary elections on 2 July 2023, but after the reduction of municipalities, the party delayed its primaries until 16 July 2023. The party held its primaries on 16 July 2023 and elected 44 municipal candidates, 60 deputies to the Legislative Assembly from all fourteen departments, and deputies to PARLACEN. GANA formed one municipal coalition with Nuevas Ideas for San Miguel Centro and one municipal coalition with the PCN for Chalatenango Centro. Unlike in the 2021 election, GANA did not form coalitions with Nuevas Ideas for the Legislative Assembly elections.
By 25 October 2023, GANA had initiated the registration process for all of its legislative candidates in all 14 departments.
National Coalition Party
Before the reduction of municipalities of legislative seats, Manuel Rodríguez stated that the PCN sought to increase the number of deputies in the Legislative Assembly from 3 to 9 and increase the number of mayors from 2 to 33. In July 2023, Rodríguez was re-elected as the party's leader.
The party originally planned to hold its primary elections on 5 July 2023, but after the reduction of municipalities, it delayed its primaries for 16 July 2023. The party opened its primaries on 16 July 2023 and concluded them on 20 July 2023. The PCN formed a coalition with the PDC to jointly contest both legislative seats of Morazán. It also formed a coalition with the Citizen Power civil movement for legislative seats and municipalities in San Salvador. The coalition is unofficial as Citizen Power is not a registered political party. In August 2023, Rodríguez confirmed that the PCN would not present a presidential candidate. According to Citizen Action, the PCN stated that it would not disclose its entire list of candidates due to alleged threats made against its candidates for participating in the elections. The PCN formed one municipal coalition with GANA for Chalatenango Centro and two municipal coalitions with the PDC for the Morazán Norte and Morazán Sur.
By 26 October 2023, the PCN had initiated the process to register its legislative candidates in 12 departments.
Christian Democratic Party
On 5 June 2023, Reinaldo Carballo, the PDC's secretary-general, announced that the party would not have a presidential candidate. He confirmed that the party would participate in the legislative and municipal elections, and that the party was reorganizing its electoral process to adjust for the reduction of municipalities and seats in the Legislative Assembly. After the reduction of municipalities and legislative seats, Carballo stated that the party expects to win at least 10 municipalities and 12 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
The PDC originally planned to hold its primary elections on 14 May 2023, but later postponed them to 2 July 2023 and then again to 20 July 2023. The party opened its primaries four days early on 16 July 2023, closing on on 19 July 2023. Carballo reaffirmed that the PDC would not have a presidential candidate and stated that the party supported Bukele's re-election campaign. The PDC formed a coalition with the PCN to jointly contest both legislative seats of Morazán, as well as the seats for both the Morazán Norte and Morazán Sur municipalities. The PDC disclosed its full list of 20 legislative, 23 municipal, and 2 PARLACEN candidates on 24 September 2023. Carballo reaffirmed that the PDC would not present a presidential candidate, stating "we have not found a Salvadoran who could beat Nayib Bukele" ("").
By 26 October 2023, the PDC had initiated the process to register its legislative candidates in 9 departments.
Nuestro Tiempo
Nuestro Tiempo held its internal party leadership elections on 12 March 2023; president Juan Valiente announced his retirement prior to the election and was succeeded by Failer. Failer indicated that the party was open to forming coalitions with other parties and confirmed that the party would select presidential and vice presidential candidates. On 13 April 2023, during an interview on Channel 21, Failer confirmed that the party would not form a coalition with ARENA or the FMLN but was still considering a coalition with Vamos; Vamos expressed disinterest in forming a coalition with Nuestro Tiempo. On 22 May 2023, El Faro alleged that Nuestro Tiempo was in negotiations with ARENA, the FMLN, and Vamos to form a political coalition for the presidential election to oppose Bukele, but Nuestro Tiempo reaffirmed that it would form a coalition with ARENA or the FMLN. On 26 July 2023, Failer proposed on Twitter to form a "Democratic National Union" ("") with ARENA and the FMLN for a presidential or legislative coalition, but both ARENA and the FMLN reiterated that they would not form a coalition with each other.
On 31 May 2023, Parada, a lawyer who resides in the United States, announced that he was running for president. His candidacy was proposed by Sumar por El Salvador. , a human rights lawyer, is Parada's running mate. The following day during an interview with Telecorporación Salvadoreña's Frente a Frente, Failer confirmed that Parada and Medrano were both running under the banner of Nuestro Tiempo, adding that "it's to elect between democracy and dictatorship; if we unite ourselves behind this, we will change what is happening to our country" (""). Parada had previously sought ARENA's 2019 presidential nomination.
The party originally planned to hold its primary elections for president and vice president on 25 June 2023 and its primary elections for deputies and mayors on 2 July 2023, but after the reduction of municipalities, the party decided to hold all its primary elections on 15 July 2023. According to Sofía González, the president of Nuestro Tiempo's permanent electoral commission, Nuestro Tiempo would contest legislative seats in 8 departments and the mayorships of 19 municipalities. The party will not participate in the PARLACEN elections as it believes that PARLACEN is a waste of the government's resources. On 15 July 2023, Nuestro Tiempo held its primary elections and officially elected Parada and Medrano as its presidential and vice presidential candidates, respectively, awarding them 100 percent of the vote. The party also elected 18 municipal candidates and 40 deputy candidates in seven departments.
In an interview with Channel 9 in July 2023, Parada stated that, if elected, he would review the necessity and constitutionality of the state of exception. In August 2023, Parada stated that he would suspend the state of exception, describing it as "nothing more than propaganda of the current Government" ("").
On 25 October 2023, Nuestro Tiempo began the process to register its presidential and vice presidential candidates. By 26 October 2023, Nuestro Tiempo had initiated the process to register its legislative candidates in 5 departments.
Vamos
On 5 March 2023, Vamos formally announced that it would not run a presidential candidate or compete in the PARLACEN elections. Claudia Ortiz announced her intention to be re-elected as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly and that she would not seek a presidential candidacy. She later added that winning control of the Legislative Assembly was more important that winning the presidency and that she will fight throughout the next presidential term. Sofía Vaquerano, the party's legal secretary, stated that Vamos would not form coalitions with individuals who had been accused of being corrupt.
Initially, Claudia Ortiz stated that the party was open to forming a coalition with other parties, but later stated that the party would not seek any political coalition. On 22 May 2023, El Faro alleged that Vamos was in negotiations with ARENA, the FMLN, and Nuestro Tiempo to form a political coalition for the presidential election to oppose Bukele. In response, Vamos stated that it would focus more on the Legislative Assembly than on winning the presidency.
The party originally planned to hold its primary elections on 18 June 2023, but after the reduction of municipalities, the party postponed its primaries to 16 July 2023. During the primaries, Vamos elected 8 municipal candidates and 32 deputy candidates for the Legislative Assembly in five departments. Additionally, Cesia Rivas was elected as the party's new secretary general. By 26 October 2023, Vamos had initiated the process to register its legislative candidates in 5 departments.
Salvadoran Independent Party
In December 2022, Roy García stated that the party sought to win between 20 and 25 deputies in the Legislative Assembly and between 90 and 100 mayors. PAIS sought to ally with opposition political parties such as ARENA, the FMLN, Vamos, Nuestro Tiempo, or the Salvadoran Patriotic Fraternity (FPS).
Samuel Tejada, the party's affiliation secretary, stated that the party would select presidential and vice presidential candidates. Gerardo Awad, a former presidential pre-candidate for ARENA in 2019, sought a presidential campaign with PAIS. In July 2022, PAIS refused to allow him to run with the party, and in January 2023, Awad announced that he would no longer seek to run for president with PAIS. Awad invited Mario Vega, the senior pastor of Misión Cristiana Elim Internacional, to be his vice presidential candidate, but Vega declined Awad's offer and stated that he did not intend to seek any public office during the 2024 election. On 4 June 2023, Awad officially announced his withdrawal from the 2024 election as he did not believe that conditions were favorable for his campaign, but he stated that he would prepare for a new presidential campaign in 2029.
PAIS planned to hold its elections on 11 June 2023, but Roy García contrarily claimed that the party would not hold elections and instead participate as a social movement in a coalition with another party. After the reduction of municipalities, the party postponed its primaries until 2 July 2023, but the party ended up holding its primary elections on 16 July 2023. On 16 August 2023, the party sought to hold a meeting with the TSE to discuss the party's status ahead of the 2024 election as the party believed that the TSE showed a lack of recognition of its primary elections. The party stated that it would hold a street protest if the TSE failed to meet with PAIS within eight days.
On 28 August 2023, PAIS deputy secretary Carlos Molina announced that it selected José Cardoza, an agricultural engineer, as its presidential candidate and Irma Sosa as its vice presidential candidate. The party also presented its legislative, municipal, and PARLACEN candidates, however, Roy García stated on Facebook that Molina's announcement was not legitimate and that all of the party's candidates were invalid. He added that the party should wait and reorganize for the 2027 legislative election. PAIS began the process to register Cardoza's and Sosa's candidacies with the TSE on 21 September 2023.
On 4 October 2023, the TSE passed a resolution to deregister the party and disallow it from participating in the 2024 election. Cardoza denounced the resolution, claiming that the TSE was "in opposition to the poor" ("") and that the resolution was undemocratic. Meanwhile, Roy García reiterated that PAIS should wait to participate in the 2027 legislative election as he believed that the party had no chance in winning the 2024 election and was in danger of falling into irrelevance. On 13 October 2023, Herbert Vega Cruz, a lawyer for PAIS, accused the TSE magistrates of committing electoral fraud for deregistering the party and rejecting its candidates. PAIS began the process to register all its legislative candidates on 26 October 2023, however, supporters of Roy García falsely claimed that they had registered "more than 600 candidates" ("") when they could only register 60. By 26 October 2023, PAIS had initiated the process to register its legislative candidates in 9 departments.
Solidarity Force
Solidarity Force originally scheduled its primary elections for 2 July 2023, but after the reduction of the municipalities, its primaries were delayed for 16 July 2023. The party first announced its primary elections on 5 March 2023, when it was not officially registered with the TSE as a political party. On 31 March 2023, the TSE officially allowed the party to participate in the elections. The party announced its elections again on 7 April 2023, as its original announcement was considered to be invalid by the TSE. Some deputies from ARENA, the FMLN, Nuestro Tiempo, and Vamos criticized the TSE for allowing the Solidarity Force to register, describing the process as favoritism and illegal.
On 16 July 2023, Solidarity Force held its primary elections for the 44 municipalities, 16 deputies for San Salvador, and 1 deputy for Ahuachapán, La Paz, Santa Ana, and Sonsonate each. Rigoberto Soto, Solidarity Force's leader, stated that the party would complete is primary elections for the remaining departments' deputies by 19 July 2023, and also stated that the party could still present a presidential candidate by the same date. He added that the party would be open to forming coalitions with other parties except for with ARENA or the FMLN. On 24 July 2023, Solidarity Force announced that Javier Renderos, an obstetrician, would be its presidential candidate and that Rafael Montalvo, an agriculturist, would be its vice presidential candidate. The party stated that both candidates had been elected on 16 July 2023. Solidarity Force formed a municipal coalition with Democratic Change for Usulután Oeste.
On 23 October 2023, Solidarity Force began the process to register its presidential and vice presidential candidates as well as its legislative candidates for San Salvador. By 26 October 2023, the party had initiated the process to register its legislative candidates in 9 departments.
Salvadoran Patriotic Fraternity
The Salvadoran Patriotic Fraternity planned held its primary elections from 16 to 20 July 2023. On 27 August 2023, the party announced that it selected Marina Murillo, an architect, as its presidential candidate and Fausto Carranza as its vice presidential candidate. Murillo is the first woman to run for president of El Salvador since Rina Escalante ran with the Authentic Democratic Christian Movement in the 1994 presidential election.
On 23 October 2023, the Salvadoran Patriotic Fraternity began the process to register its presidential and vice presidential candidates. It did not register any legislative candidates.
Democratic Change
Democratic Change initially planned to hold its primary elections on 4 June 2023, but later rescheduled them for 19 July 2023. Democratic Change held its primary elections from 16 to 19 July 2023 and elected legislative, municipal, and PARLACEN candidates. Democratic Change formed two municipal coalitions with Nuevas Ideas for Sonsonate Oeste and Santa Ana Norte and one municipal coalition with Solidarity Force for Usulután Oeste. The party registered all its legislative candidates in 13 departments on 26 October 2023.
Salvadoran Democracy
Salvadoran Democracy stated it would hold its primary elections on 7 May 2023, but it ultimately did not hold primary elections and will not participate in the 2024 election. It did not register any legislative candidates.
Independents
Registration for independent candidates began on 5 May 2023 and ended on 5 September 2023. Manuel Meléndez was the only independent to begin registration with the TSE, however, he abandoned the registration process on 16 August 2023.
Opinion polls
Opinion polling has been conducted by various groups such as CIESCA, Fundaungo, La Prensa Gráfica, TResearch, and UFG prior to the 2024 general election; virtually every poll conducted indicates significant leads for Nuevas Ideas in the presidential, legislative, and municipal elections. Additionally, opinion polling has been conducted whether or not Salvadorans support Bukele's re-election; virtually every poll indicates that a large majority of Salvadorans would support Bukele's re-election. Many Salvadoran Americans also support Bukele's re-election.
Results
Presidential results
Legislative Assembly results
Municipal results
PARLACEN results
See also
Elections in El Salvador
List of elections in 2024
2024 national electoral calendar
2024 local electoral calendar
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
Supreme Electoral Court website
Constitution of El Salvador
Election Guide
Electoral Code
Law of Political Parties
Special Law for the Exercise of Suffrage Abroad
General election
El Salvador
February 2024 events in North America
El Salvador
Legislative elections in El Salvador
March 2024 events in North America
Nayib Bukele
Presidential elections in El Salvador