The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, was reelected Sunday night, securing more than 85% of the votes. He is now on his way to govern practically without opposition, with his party winning almost all the seats in Congress.
El Salvador has been under a state of exception, first imposed in March 2022 and renewed by the legislature on a monthly basis since then. Bukele’s government imposed the state of exception as part of its “War on Gangs”. The provision stipulates a suspension of people’s basic constitutional rights including the right of a detainee to be informed about their rights and the reason for the arrest, right to legal counsel, amongst other things. During this period, nearly 76,000 people were arrested, many accused of being part of criminal gangs, which are classified as terrorist organizations in the country. Over 200 people have died in the prisons since Bukele started his war on gangs, according to human rights NGO Socorro Jurídico Humanitario.
“El Salvador has broken all the records of all the democracies in the world,” declared Bukele from the balcony of the National Palace while celebrating his electoral victory.
Bukele took advantage of his victory speech also to point the finger at journalists, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations who have criticized his regime of mass incarceration and suspension of rights.
“They say that Salvadorans do not want the state of exception, that Salvadorans live in fear in El Salvador. I say to the journalists who are with us now, in the safest country in the entire western hemisphere, do not believe me, that I am only a politician, believe the Salvadoran people. I am telling you today in the elections. The people not only spoke loud and clear, but they did it in the most forceful way in the history of mankind,” said the President.
“Why do they want them to kill us?” said Bukele.
Bukele claimed that in these elections, the political opposition was “pulverized.” He declared that his party’s victory is the largest margin of victory in the “history of humanity.”
While the country’s constitution does not permit re-election, the country’s highest court ruled in 2021 that Bukele could run for re-election if he took six months off before a new mandate. This provision has led many to question the legitimacy of the electoral process, with some even accused Bukele of using public funds for propaganda in his favor, even during the period of electoral silence.
The electoral process also saw several violations to the press. The Association of Journalists of El Salvador (APES) registered 173 violations to the journalistic exercise during election day. These violations ranged from authorities preventing journalists from covering different aspects of the voting process in certain localities to stigmatizing comments and harassment made to journalists by authorities and others during their coverage.
