The OAS Electoral Observation Mission welcomes another peaceful election in El Salvador February 4, 2019 The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (EOM/OAS), deployed in El Salvador for the presidential elections of February 3, welcomes the peaceful fashion in which Election Day unfolded. The Mission congratulates the President elect, Nayib Bukele, for his victory in the first round and commends the democratic maturity of his opponents, Carlos Calleja, Hugo Martínez, and Josué Alvarado, who immediately recognized his victory, thus providing certainty on election night. This process consolidated a pluralism reflected in the nationwide victory of a political movement other than the two traditional parties which have dominated Salvadoran politics since the Peace Accords of 1982. The OAS began its observation of the electoral process in December 2018 with a team led by Uruguayan diplomat, Juan Pablo Corlazzoli. The team included 84 observers and experts from 24 different countries who analyzed electoral organization, electoral technology, political financing, and electoral justice. On Election Day, the Mission was present in 14 departments of the country prior to the opening of polling stations (JRVs) up to the tallying and transmission of results. In total, OAS observers visited more than 400 polling centers. In general, the distribution of electoral materials was punctual and satisfactory. Nevertheless, observers noted that some polling station officials were unfamiliar with the procedures, which delayed the start of the poll at some centers. Furthermore, the representatives of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) party experienced some difficulties in accessing the polling places because the name of their party did not appear on their vests. They resolved this issue by writing it in themselves with a marker. The Mission noted a significant presence at polling centers by three out of the four parties running in the elections: GANA, Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). Also present were numerous security officials, electoral prosecutors, members of the Office of the Ombudsman for the Protection of Human Rights (PPDD), and national and international observers, which contributed to the day unfolding without major incidents. On the afternoon of the Election Day, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced that it would initiate disciplinary proceedings against candidate Nayib Bukele for a possible violation of the electoral law for having urged people to vote for him at a press conference. The Mission noted that Bukele was not the only one to appeal for votes and that there were semantic differences between the speeches.; 1 At the close of the polls, the system to transmit and process the tally sheets worked correctly and swiftly, and both political parties and the press had real‐time access from computers installed at the international convention center (CIFCO). At 9:10 p.m., 85.97% of all election data had already been recorded. It bears noting, however, that the dissemination of information via the Internet was uneven and was affected by constant delays. These data revealed that voter turnout was lower than in the prior election, only reaching 51.8 percent, according to data from the vote count available at the time this report was presented. The Mission will remain in the country during the final scrutiny of the tally sheets, which begins tomorrow—Tuesday, thus completing its observation of all stages of the electoral process. Once that phase is completed, the MOE will present a more complete report with a series of observations and preliminary recommendations on matters related to electoral organization, technology, financing and justice system. ELECTORAL SYSTEM In this election, at least three political parties vied for the electorate’s vote nationwide. This change constituted a challenge for electoral institutions. The Mission deems that in order to better regulate the conditions of political competition, the electoral system must reflect the reality of the country. Given that the political party that won the elections expressed its concern during the campaign about its lack of representation on the electoral body and about this body’s possible partisanship in favor of the parties that do have representation therein, the Mission recommends that, in its next iteration the plenary should reflect the political plurality that currently prevails in the country. Furthermore, the Mission considers that the officials who are not part of the plenary must have strictly non‐partisan, technical profiles. This will build a more solid institution that enjoys greater trust and credibility among the population. The Mission further considers that there should be an in‐depth electoral reform that specifies in particular the procedures, regulations, and phases of the electoral process that are not currently regulated in standing legislative frameworks and require the electoral body to issue decisions. ELECTORAL ORGANIZATION The polling station staff consisted of four main workers as well as four alternates, a number which represents the presidential candidates in the competition. These workers were proposed by political parties; however, in keeping with current legislation, they cannot be members or supporters of a political party.1 In order to comply with the law and purge the lists, the TSE established a procedure by which it compared the databases of party members with each one of the party proposals for polling station workers. 1 The Departmental Election Boards (JED) consisted of 112 people; the Municipal Election Boards (JEM) of 2,096, and the polling station staff (JRV) of 76,544 people; thus, a total of 78,752 people were members of the temporary electoral bodies (OET). 2 Nevertheless, the current legislation does not authorize the electoral body to have the party lists in an ongoing manner and thus it was unable to verify or review the data received.2 Bearing this in mind, it is recommended that political parties be legally required to provide the TSE with a record of supporters that is periodically updated. This would allow the TSE to fully comply with the stipulations of current legislation. Furthermore, the Mission observed that, in keeping with its 2018 recommendation, the TSE implemented a program to distribute accreditation IDs to polling station staff. The TSE published information on the distribution and delivery of these IDs several days beforehand, leading to significant improvement in the procedure as compared to the last election. With regard to training, the Mission recommends establishing ongoing programs to bolster the training of election officials, as well as education in election civic election. This, in order to contribute, in the long term, to the development of a more participatory and better informed citizenry. ELECTION TECHNOLOGY The Mission commends the efforts undertaken by the TSE to implement in its entirety the system to transmit preliminary election results. This constituted an important step in developing technical capacities aimed at institutional strengthening. Due to the absence of a precise schedule and manuals, testing and adjustments to the system were conducted up until the day before the elections. This raised questions and suspicions about the system and did not help to create confidence in the TSE’s work. Thus, it is recommended that the electoral authority prioritize the establishment of a general calendar of activities that allows modifications to the system to be carried out in stages without interrupting or altering previously established phases. The Mission reiterates the recommendation made in 2018, whereby it suggested documenting procedures for the various activities and stages of the results transmission process. This, in order to reduce the risks associated with the absence of written documents about these kinds of systems and the need to unify criteria to execute each one of the components thereof. ELECTORAL JUSTICE SYSTEM The regulation regarding appeals in El Salvador is not highly developed and has notorious flaws. The Electoral Code does not clearly define the four legal remedies that it provides (appeal to reverse judgment, appeal for review, remedy of appeal, and appeal for annulment).3 Specifically, it does not define under what circumstances the remedies can be filed, the deadlines for the procedures and hearing, the rights of the parties, and the effects of the judgments. 2 Information obtained from Louis Benavides, General Secretariat of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) 3 Electoral Code. Title IX. Article 258 3 Moreover, these provisions have not been developed under regulations or general standards. It has been the TSE’s own case law that has set forth the scope of each remedy and measures to address any legal lacunae. The Mission recommends that the necessary reforms be undertaken so that the legal framework includes a system of legal remedies that is more exact, either through the Electoral Code or a new election procedural law. At the same time, it is important to bolster the TSE’s institutional capacities in order for it to carry out its judicial function, which are limited in comparison with the capacities it has for tasks of an administrative nature. ELECTORAL AND POLITICAL FINANCING El Salvador has established a mixed financing system for its election campaigns.4 The law provides for a public financing mechanism for political parties through the so‐called