Salvadoran presidential election, 2004
Encyclopedia
A presidential election was held in El Salvador
on Sunday, 21 March 2004. The Salvadoran people elected a new president, together with his vice-president, for a five-year term.
Antonio "Tony" Saca
of the ARENA
party won the election. El Salvador's constitution provides for a second-round runoff vote in the event that no candidate secures an absolute majority; however, Saca's 57% share of the vote meant that the second round, scheduled for 2 May, would not take place.
There were also two additional candidates. However, pre-vote opinion polls consistently placed both of them far behind the two leaders:
The election was monitored by 270 international observers and El Salvador's own Tribunal Supremo Electoral, an institution created in 1992 to reform and validate the country's electoral system. Some 17,000 police were on security duty during the election.
under George W. Bush
interfered in the elections by threatening a deterioration of the bilateral relations in case of a victory by FMLN
's candidate Schafik Handal
. Bush's Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
, Otto Reich
, stated that the U.S. government was "concerned about the impact that an FMLN victory could have on the commercial, economic, and migration-related relations of the U.S. with El Salvador."
Handal recognized Tony Saca's victory, but chose not to congratulate him. Saca announced his intention to seek reconciliation with the opposition FMLN, in an effort to heal old divisions from the country's violent past
.
Saca selected Ana Vilma de Escobar
to be his vice-president. She was previously the director of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS). The new government took office on 1 June 2004.
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
on Sunday, 21 March 2004. The Salvadoran people elected a new president, together with his vice-president, for a five-year term.
Antonio "Tony" Saca
Antonio Saca
Elías Antonio Saca González is a Salvadoran politician and was the President of El Salvador. He was elected President in 2004 to serve a five-year term that ended in 2009....
of the ARENA
Nationalist Republican Alliance
The Nationalist Republican Alliance is a conservative political party in El Salvador. It was founded on September 30, 1981, by Roberto D'Aubuisson, in order to oppose the reformist military junta that was ruling El Salvador at the time...
party won the election. El Salvador's constitution provides for a second-round runoff vote in the event that no candidate secures an absolute majority; however, Saca's 57% share of the vote meant that the second round, scheduled for 2 May, would not take place.
Candidates
There were two front-running candidates:- Antonio SacaAntonio SacaElías Antonio Saca González is a Salvadoran politician and was the President of El Salvador. He was elected President in 2004 to serve a five-year term that ended in 2009....
of the ruling Nationalist Republican AllianceNationalist Republican AllianceThe Nationalist Republican Alliance is a conservative political party in El Salvador. It was founded on September 30, 1981, by Roberto D'Aubuisson, in order to oppose the reformist military junta that was ruling El Salvador at the time...
(ARENA). In his campaign, Saca embraced the free-market and pro-USUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
policies followed by his predecessor and fellow arenista, Francisco FloresFrancisco Flores PérezFrancisco Guillermo Flores Pérez is an ex president of El Salvador. He led the country from June 1 1999 until June 1 2004 as a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance .-Background:...
. He was also the clear favorite of the BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
administration.
- Schafik HandalSchafik HandalSchafik Jorge Handal was a Salvadoran politician. Born in Usulután, he was the son of Palestinian Arab immigrants.-Biography:...
of the opposition Farabundo Martí National Liberation FrontFarabundo Martí National Liberation FrontThe Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is, since 1992, a left-wing political party in El Salvador and formerly a coalition of five revolutionary guerrilla organizations...
(FMLN). Handal sought to capitalize on discontent over slow economic growth, increasing crime, and income disparities between the poor and the tiny elite. He pledged to raise the tax burden on the rich and to re-establish diplomatic relations with CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
There were also two additional candidates. However, pre-vote opinion polls consistently placed both of them far behind the two leaders:
- Héctor Silva Argüello, the United Democratic Centre-Christian Democratic PartyChristian Democratic Party (El Salvador)The Christian Democratic Party is a political party in El Salvador.In the legislative elections, held on 16 March 2003, the party won 7.3% of the popular vote and 5 out of 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly. In the presidential election of 21 March 2004, the PDC supported Héctor Silva Argüello...
(CDU-PDC) alliance candidate.
- José Rafael Machuca Zelaya, representing the Party of National ConciliationParty of National ConciliationThe Party of National Conciliation is a conservative political party in El Salvador. It was the most powerful political party in the country during the 1960s and 1970s, and was closely associated with the Salvadoran military. Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo, a candidate of the National...
(PCN).
The election was monitored by 270 international observers and El Salvador's own Tribunal Supremo Electoral, an institution created in 1992 to reform and validate the country's electoral system. Some 17,000 police were on security duty during the election.
Foreign interference
The U.S. governmentFederal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
under George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
interfered in the elections by threatening a deterioration of the bilateral relations in case of a victory by FMLN
Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is, since 1992, a left-wing political party in El Salvador and formerly a coalition of five revolutionary guerrilla organizations...
's candidate Schafik Handal
Schafik Handal
Schafik Jorge Handal was a Salvadoran politician. Born in Usulután, he was the son of Palestinian Arab immigrants.-Biography:...
. Bush's Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs
The Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs is the head of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs within the United States Department of State, the foreign affairs department of the United States federal government. The Assistant Secretary of State guides operation of the U.S...
, Otto Reich
Otto Reich
Otto Juan Reich , a Cuban-American, is former senior official in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush...
, stated that the U.S. government was "concerned about the impact that an FMLN victory could have on the commercial, economic, and migration-related relations of the U.S. with El Salvador."
Results
The election had a 67% turn-out (or 3.4 million voters), the highest in Salvadoran history. The Tribunal Supremo Electoral confirmed Saca as the winner on Monday 22 March.Handal recognized Tony Saca's victory, but chose not to congratulate him. Saca announced his intention to seek reconciliation with the opposition FMLN, in an effort to heal old divisions from the country's violent past
History of El Salvador
The history of El Salvador has been a history of struggle against conquistadors, empires, dictatorships and world powers to be free. El Salvador was one of the regions that resisted the Spanish invasion led by Pedro de Alvarado who had to fight Atlantica and retreat several times back to Guatemala...
.
Saca selected Ana Vilma de Escobar
Ana Vilma de Escobar
Ana Vilma de Escobar is a Salvadorean female politician who was Vice President of El Salvador from 1 June 2004 to 1 June 2009. She is a member of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance party. She is the first woman to serve as Vice President, complementing the presidential formula of...
to be his vice-president. She was previously the director of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (ISSS). The new government took office on 1 June 2004.