El Salvador’s President Nayib Boucle declared himself the winner of a second five-year term on Sunday with an overwhelming 85 percent of the vote, leaving the country’s opposition party “crushed” and making El Salvador the world’s first democratic single-party state. declared it a dictatorship. system.
Bukele was first elected president in 2019 under the New Ideas party. The New Ideas Party is the third party that made history by breaking the two-party system of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Party (FMLN) and the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA). ). Before founding New Ideas, Bukele was a long-time member of the FMLN. exiled In 2017, he was charged with “defamation” against the party.
After his first appointment, Mr. Bukele immediately launched a nationwide campaign against El Salvador’s notorious gang violence, marked by high-profile battles with Congress, Congress, and the courts.
Bukele’s party plans to replace the entire Supreme Court and the country’s attorney general in 2021 through a “state of exception” decree that limits some constitutional rights in exchange for expanding police powers to arrest gang suspects. The expansion of administrative powers in March 2022 caused controversy. Bukele also built “mega-prisons” for tens of thousands of gang members, making it easier to remove them from the streets.
President of the Republic of El Salvador via Storyful
As critics acknowledged, the gang crackdown was a huge success and fueled Bukele’s immense popularity.newspapers of el salvador El FaroThe newspaper, one of Bukele’s most prominent critical voices in the country, published a report criticizing Bukele’s government and reported that the gang had virtually “disappeared” in February 2023. Although the state of exception restricted some freedoms of assembly, the destruction of gangs allowed for the restoration of activities that would be considered normal in a free state, such as small businesses operating without paying extortion fees to gangs or their families, which Freedoms that could not be exercised until now have been expanded. public park.
“Yes, they destroyed the gang as you know. If what you want to ask is, do they no longer exist? Sipotes [gang members] It is true that they exist in these places,” an anonymous former gang leader told the newspaper. “They’re gone. If you want to look at it that way, you’re right. They destroyed the gang.”
Bukele himself declared on Sunday that he had defeated both ARENA and FMLN candidates by wide margins unprecedented in the history of world democracy, leading skeptics to question the validity of the numbers, but the election Polls in previous months had shown similar numbers of supporters. Salvadorans certainly intended to vote for the incumbent.
“On this day, El Salvador broke every democratic record in the history of the world. Never since democracy began has an election been won with the number of votes we received today,” Bukele said. announced on Sunday. “Literally the largest percentage in history. This is the largest difference between first and second place in history. And not only did we win the presidency of the Republic for the second time with over 85 percent of the vote, but we also won the We also won at least 58 of the 60 delegates in Congress.”
Bukele also announced these election results on his Twitter account. in front The country’s election authority had not released the results.
“According to our numbers, we won the presidential election with over 85 percent of the vote and at least 58 of the 60 members of Congress,” he wrote. “It’s a record in the history of world democracy.”
With 85% voter turnout and 58 to 60 days of Assemblair presidential election, a presidential election could be held.
A record of the history of democracy.
Look forward to the Frente al Palacio Nacional at 9 p.m.
Dios Bendiga, El Salvador.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibukele) February 5, 2024
In a speech on the balcony of the National Palace in San Salvador, Bukele argued: All the opposition was crushed together. ”
“In 2019, we turned the page, breaking from the two-party system that had brought us to its knees. We ended the post-war era,” he continued, “but we do not have the capacity to govern. There was no. Remember how we fought Congress back then? They wouldn’t let us do anything for the people.”
“In 2021, you gave us not just a simple majority – which they said was unattainable – but a full majority in the Legislative Assembly. , the Salvadoran people and their representatives will be able to expel the Salvadoran people,” he recalled. I would like to see the expulsion of the former Constitutional Court, the former Attorney General, and the approval of the necessary plans for territorial control. ”
“We will approve the state of exception in March 2022,” he said, to thunderous applause.
Supporters of El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele gather outside the National Palace to celebrate his re-election in the presidential and parliamentary elections in San Salvador on February 4, 2024. (MARVIN RECINOS/AFP via Getty Images)
In addition to granting a state of exception that limits constitutional rights, the replacement of the Constitutional Court judges also allows Bukele to be re-elected.El Salvador’s constitution explicitly prohibits the president from running for more than one term for the highest office, but courts have ruled control In 2021, Bukele will be able to stand for re-election as long as he resigns six months before the end of his term. Bukele did so, officially leaving his country in the hands of his former secretary Claudia Juana Rodríguez de Guevara. is assumed Office in December.
In his speech, Bukele addressed critics who questioned the legitimacy of his election and the rigor of democracy.
“People who don’t live in our country, who don’t know El Salvador, who haven’t even passed through here on a connecting flight, say that El Salvadorans live in oppression,” Bukele said to cheers from the audience. He spoke while calling out. Salvadorans do not want a state of exception. Salvadorans live in fear of their government. ”
“I say to the journalists who are traveling with me tonight here in the safest country in the Western Hemisphere, in complete freedom and complete safety, don’t believe me,” he continued. “I’m just a politician, just an official. Believe the people of El Salvador who are telling you in this square. They are telling you in every national and international poll, including opposition polls, and I told you this election too, in case you don’t believe me.”
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele greets supporters next to his wife Gabriela Rodríguez after presidential and parliamentary elections in San Salvador on February 4, 2024. (YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
“The people of El Salvador have not only spoken loud and clear, but they have spoken out in the most decisive way in the history of democracy in the entire world,” he concluded. “If that doesn’t convince you, then journalists, NGO workers, international NGO workers, UN officials, OEA [Organization of American States] Nothing can convince you, worker. ”
El Faroopposition newspaper, expressed They are concerned about Bukele’s claim of an 85% electoral approval rating and the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the central government body tasked with counting votes.
“Until about 10 p.m., the court provided partial data but no context,” the newspaper reported. “With his 22 percent of the votes processed, Bukele received 1,090,522 votes, followed by FMLN candidate Manuel Flores in a distant second place with 93,846 votes.
“The data provided by the court appeared contradictory as if the number of votes was 22 percent, meaning that virtually 100 percent of the people voted for Bukele. ” El Faro I fought with
But ultimately, the complaints about Bukele stem from the Supreme Court justice’s ouster and accusations of “.”gerrymandering” is far from an uncommon practice in other countries widely considered to be free and democratic. Opinion polls released before the election also did not contradict Mr. Bukele’s results.
vote A poll released in January by El Salvador’s Universidad Central America found that 81.9 percent of voters intended to choose Bukele. January’s numbers marked a significant increase for him, who had already been dominating in the polls throughout the summer. In August 2023, the Civic Research Center (CEC) of Francisco Gavidia University published a survey showing that 68.4 percent of voters would choose Bukele. The same poll predicted New Idea would win 58 of 60 seats in parliament, exactly the same margin that Bukele announced Sunday night.
