Posted on January 28, 2009 by freeandfairelections
Despite polls indicating incumbent FLMN Violeta Menjívar would win reelection, ARENA rival Norman Quijano won the election and is set to be the new mayor of San Salvador.
San Salvador has been a FMLN stronghold for 12 years.
While the FMLN accepts the results, they denounced the mobilization of Salvadorans from other parts of the country and the buses transporting other Central Americans into the city to vote.
“We are a responsible political force and we are accepting the results of the TSE,” stated Menjívar in a news conference, but she urged the municipality to address the illegitimate mobilization of voters who were not from the capital so that it does not happen in future elections. She called more generally for reform in the electoral system, citing the need for more transparency.
Mauricio Funes, the FMLN candidate for the presidential elections in March, commented on the loss, saying that the people of San Salvador lost faith in Menjívar’s work. Quijano successfully campaigned on a message of change, something difficult for an incumbent to advertise.
Posted on January 28, 2009 by freeandfairelections
The January 18 municipal and legislative elections in San Isidro, Cabañas, were suspended after the political parties PDC, PCN, ARENA, and CD reported fraud and suspected foreign voters.
The election was halted in the morning and postponed until a week later, January 25. To increase control and avoid further disruptions, the polling place was moved to the Centro Escolar de San Isidro. The National Civil Police deployed 300 officers and set up checkpoints along the road to the polls to ensure there weren’t any violent confrontations between the different parties.
There was a low turnout on the rescheduled day for the election, with only 3,385 of the 6,605 registered voters going to the polls.
Posted by Leslie O’Bray, Grassroots Education and Advocacy Intern
Posted on January 28, 2009 by freeandfairelections
As of Friday night (January 23), the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced the final results from the January 18 Legislative and Municipal Elections.
259 of the 262 municipal elections have been called. The results stand as such:
Municipal Elections Results
The new municipalities the FMLN won means it now governs 3 million Salvadorans, roughly half the population.
The three undeclared municipalities are San Agustín (Usultán), San Simón (Morazán), and San Isidro (Cabañas).
The FLMN and ARENA tied in San Agustín, each winning 877 votes on January 18. There will be a runoff election between the two party on February 1.
The TSE investigated the results from four municipalities where the winning margin was small and could be overturned by the contested votes. However, the TSE declared ARENA to win all four municipalities: Olocuilta (La Paz), San Cayetano Istepeque (San Vicente), Concepción Quezaltepeque (Chalatenango), and El Carmen (La Unión).
The mayors will take office on May 1, 2009 and will govern until April 30, 2012.
Posted by Leslie O’Bray, Grassroots Education and Advocacy Intern
Posted on December 10, 2008 by freeandfairelections
What’s Driving El Salvador’s Left Turn?
by: Susan Fitzpatrick Behrens
Click Here for an overview of the election and an analysis of what is making the FMLN party’s campaign successful. The article specifically addresses the “open social “dialogue” that the FMLN is trying to engage in with Salvadoran citizens at home and abroad.
Posted on December 2, 2008 by freeandfairelections
Election News Timeline for November 2008
November 5th: The Legislative Assembly passed with 61 votes additional reforms to the electoral code. These reforms require the Secretary of each “Vote Receiving Board” (JRV) to sign and stamp the ballot, then show it to the other members of the JRV, to the electoral observers and to the person that will be casting his/her vote on the ballot. Ballots without signatures may still be counted if they prove to be official based on registration number, the presence of the seal of the Republic, and other characteristics. Also, any JRV official who does not fulfill his/her obligation to sign a ballot will be fined $114 .
November 8th: Alledged attacks by FMLN opposition on an ARENA caravan carrying ARENA presidential candidate Rodrigo Avila occured in Meanguera, Morazán. A group of persons dressed in the colors and symbols of the FMLN political party attacked a caravan with stones and sticks. The aggression resulted in damages to the vehicles and injuries. All parties, the FMLN, ARENA, the TSE, and the Attorney’s Office for the Defense of Human Rights (PDDH), have spoken out against the attacks and insist that this sort of political violence must cease.
November 10th: 21 year old student and Secretary of the FMLN grassroots committee David Antonio Péñate was shot by unknown gunmen in the city of Chalchuapa. The victim was selling a weekly FMLN publication only 10 meters away from his home when he was approaced by three persons, one who had their face covered and shot at Péñate multiple times. According to the investigation led by the Legal Department of the Archbishop of San Salvador, there is sufficient evidence that the crime was planned with the goal of eliminateing community leaders of the FMLN political party. The homicide went unoticed by Salvadoran media.
November 14th: The official Presidential campaign began. The Constitution calls for the official campaigning season for the President to begin four months prior to the March 15 elections. Now that the official season has begun, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, who have previously been not taken action against “dirty campaign” tactics, will no longer have an excuse not to regulate.
November 17th: Official campaign season for Legislative Assembly elections began.
Posted on October 27, 2008 by freeandfairelections
The Solidarity Force (Fuerza Solidaria), an ARENA backing organization, recently ran television adds that connect a photograph of Mauricio Funes, to the FMLN icon, to a photograph of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The FMLN acted immediately, calling the Tribunal Suprema Electoral (TSE) to take a strong position in ensuring clean campaigns and a transparent electoral process.
FMLN representatives have accused the ARENA campaign of using “scare tactics” to win votes as they remain about 10% behind the FMLN in public opinion polls.
This particular smear campaign is seen as even more dangerous with the approaching XVIII Cumbre Iboamericana to be held in San Salvador in coming weeks. President Chavez is supposed to attend but is currently refusing to participate in the conference set to discuss “Childhood and Development” because of fear for his security.
All of this conflict comes only a few weeks after FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes and ARENA candidate Rodrigo Avila both signed a decree calling for non-confrontational campaigns and a non-violent electoral process.
ARENA and party affiliates continue to deny they are running a “dirty campaign” or “dirty war” in the media. Addtionally, a representative who once ran for President of Venezuela and now represents the Fuerza Solidaria has called on FMLN Candidate Mauricio Funes to “speak frankly” about his relationship with current Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Jaíme Handal, who ran unsuccesfully for Mayor of San Salvador for the ARENA party, is now the face of Fuerza Solidaria. ARENA Presidential candidate Rodigo Avila has said that he considers Handal an important part of the ARENA party.
Posted on October 27, 2008 by freeandfairelections
There was major disagreement amongst the five majority parties in the Hacienda Commission of the Legislative Assembly discussing electoral reform once again.
The argument over whether ballots will need to be signed and stamped by an official of the Vote Receiving Committee (JRV) in order to be counted has been ongoing since December of 2007 when the PCN and ARENA decided that neither was necessary to make a vote official.
Early this year, FMLN, PDC, and PCN were all able to agree on a proposition of certain electoral reforms. The agreement was that all ballots had to be signed and stamped or officially verified (by serial number for example) and that any JRV official who violated official handling of the ballots would be fined.
On October 15, 2008, the ARENA representative realized the other parties had agreed and asked to be given time to mull over the agreement. When the party representatives came together for what was supposed to be a final meeting the reforms seemed consensual.
Within forty-seven minutes of the meeting ARENA representative Romero claimed that there was no consensus on the new accords, causing an FMLN candidate to leave the room in frustration. Ultimately the PCN party seemed to have been swayed by ARENA to join their attempt to stop the agreement from moving forward.
Since there was no agreement reached amongst the parties the reform will be filed for another six months, and evaluated at a later date.
Posted on October 27, 2008 by freeandfairelections
a group called “Fuerza Solidaria”, clearly linked to the ARENA party, has been broadcasting these advertisements recently in El Salvador. The ads recall the dirty campaign against Schafik Handal and the FMLN in 2004. Check out the ads here and a popular blog in Spanish criticizing the ads here.
A recently returned delegation to El Salvador has published a report on human rights abuses, the potential for fraud and intervention in the 2009 Salvadoran elections, and the role that the US government has played in the cited injustices. The delegation was organized by the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) and was made up of 17 US citizens and residents. The introduction to the report explains its intended purpose of “offer[ing] elected officials, the media, and concerned citizens a description of the deterioration of human rights in El Salvador…[and] the potential impediments to true democracy faced by the Salvadoran people as they approach a crucial election period in their country.”Read more »
