Elections in El Salvador

Elections in El Salvador gives information on elections and election results in El Salvador.

El Salvador elects its head of state – the President of El Salvador – directly through a fixed-date general election whose winner is decided by absolute majority. If an absolute majority (50% + 1) is not achieved by any candidate in the first round of a presidential election, then a run-off election is conducted 30 days later between the two candidates who obtained the most votes in the first round. The presidential period is five years and consecutive re-election is not permitted, though previously elected presidents may run for a second, non-consecutive term. Salvadorans also elect a single-chamber, unicameral national legislature – the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador – composed of 84 members (deputies) elected by open-list proportional representation for three-year terms, with the possibility of immediate re-election. Twenty of the 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly are elected on the basis of a single national constituency. The remaining 64 are elected in 14 multi-member constituencies (corresponding to the country's 14 departments) that range from 3-16 seats each according to department population size.

El Salvador has a multi-party system, although two political parties, ARENA and the FMLN have tended to dominate elections, with ARENA candidates having won four consecutive presidential elections until the election of Mauricio Funes of the FMLN in March 2009.