At Stake in this Election:

• The Presidency of El Salvador

The legislative election will occur concurrently.

Government Structure:

• Chief of State: President Nayib BUKELE (since 1 June 2019)
  • Claudia Juan RODRÍGUEZ de Guevara has served as acting president since 1 December 2023 while BUKELE participates in the presidential election cycle.
• Head of Government: President Nayib BUKELE (since 1 June 2019)
• Assembly: unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) with 60 seats

Electoral System:

• The President is directly elected (along with the Vice-President) by absolute majority vote in up to two rounds. The President may serve one 5-year term.
• In the Legislative Assembly, all 60 members are directly elected via open-list proportional representation vote from multi-seat constituencies. All members serve 3-year terms

Last Election:

In the 2019 presidential election, Nayib BUKELE won in the first round with 53.1% of the vote, defeating three other candidates. Voter turnout was 51.88%.

New/Unique in this Election:

In 2021, the Constitutional Court ruled that President Nayib BUKELE could run for reelection even though the constitution limits the president to a single term.

Key Deadlines:

• Candidate filing deadline: 26 October 2023
• Voter registration deadline: 6 October 2023

Main Candidates in this Election:

• Nayib BUKELE
  • Nuevas Ideas
  • Incumbent
• Juan Manuel FLORES Cornejo
  • FMLN
• Joel Humberto SÁNCHEZ Maldonado
  • ARENA
• Ana Marina MURILLO Aguilar
  • Fraternidad Patriota Salvadoreña (FPS)
• José Javier RENDEROS Vásquez
  • Fuerza Solidaria (FS)
• Luís Alberto PARADA Fuentes
  • Nuestro Tiempo (NT)

Population and Registered Voters:

• Population: 6,336,390 (2022 est.)
• Registered Voters: 6,214,399 (2024)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 3,319,860 (2022 est.)
• CEDAW Status: Signed 14 November 1980, Ratified 19 August 1981
• Gender Quota:  At least 30% of candidates must be women on each party list for legislative elections.
• Female Candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 23 out of 84 (27.4%) in the Legislative Assembly
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.675, Medium, Rank 125 (2021)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 19.6 (2023)

Disability Data:

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 14 December 2007
• Projected population with a disability: 1,013,822 (2022 est.)

IFES Resources:

• IFES Election FAQ document
• Does IFES have a presence in El Salvador: Yes, country office  
• Election Access: Yes
• Election Judgements: Yes, 2 judgements and 6 resources