2003 Salvadoran legislative election

2003 Salvadoran legislative election

16 March 2003

All 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly 43 seats needed for a majority

Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– FMLN Salvador Sánchez Cerén 33.96 31 0 ARENA Archic Baldocchi Duenas 31.91 27 −2 PCN Ciro Cruz Zepeda 12.95 16 +3 PDC Rodolfo Parker 7.28 5 −1 CDU 6.37 5 +2 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results by constituency

Legislative elections were held in El Salvador on 16 March 2003 to elect 84 deputies to the Legislative Assembly for a term of three years. The main opposition party, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), won the most seats in election at 31.^[1][2] However the governing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) won enough seats to continue in government with the Party of National Conciliation (PCN).^[1]

Background

ARENA had controlled the government of El Salvador since winning the 1989 presidential election.^[3] The 2003 legislative election was the fifth election since the ending of the Salvadoran Civil War in 1992.^[4]

Campaign

In total 11 political parties contested the election but it was seen as being primarily between ARENA and the opposition FMLN.^[4] ARENA campaigned for a mandate to continue the economic reforms they had been pursuing^[4] but was hurt in the election by a recent six-month strike by doctors.^[3] Meanwhile, FMLN won support from those who did not feel they have benefited from the economic reforms introduced by ARENA^[3] and they attacked the government over crime and declining economic growth.^[4]

There were five deaths during the campaign related to the election and for three days around the election a ban on the sales of alcohol was introduced to prevent any trouble.^[5] Election day itself saw problems with the electoral list, with reports of voters not being on the list, while some dead people were listed.^[6] Turnout was low with only slightly less than 39% voting.^[5]

Results

The FMLN remained the largest party in the Legislative Assembly winning 31 seats the same as the previous election in 2000. ARENA lost two seats, but with their allies the Party of National Conciliation gaining 3 seats, they retained a majority.^[4] At the same time as the legislative election, the 262 municipalities held elections with the FMLN retaining the most important post, the mayoralty of San Salvador, when Carlos Rivas Zamora defeated Evelyn Jacir de Lovo of ARENA.^[3]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front	475,146	33.96	31	0
	Nationalist Republican Alliance	446,381	31.91	27	–2
	National Conciliation Party	181,168	12.95	16	+3
	Christian Democratic Party	101,855	7.28	5	–1
	United Democratic Centre	89,121	6.37	5	+2
	Renewal Movement	26,298	1.88	0	New
	Republican People's Party	22,783	1.63	0	New
	Popular Action	15,998	1.14	0	New
	Christian Force	15,468	1.11	0	New
	National Action Party	14,553	1.04	0	–2
	Social Democratic Party	10,206	0.73	0	New
Total		1,398,977	100.00	84	0
Valid votes		1,398,977	96.39
Invalid/blank votes		52,350	3.61
Total votes		1,451,327	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,537,091	41.03
Source: IFES

References

1. "Former guerrillas score election advance". The Independent. 18 March 2003. p. 15.
2. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p286 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
3. "The Americas: Guerrillas out of the mist; El Salvador's election". The Economist. 22 March 2003. p. 58.
4. "El Salvador: parliamentary elections Asamblea legislativa, 2003". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
5. "Left claims El Salvador victory". BBC Online. 17 March 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
6. Gonzalez, David (18 March 2003). "El Salvador: Leftists First In Elections". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 May 2009.