According to the latest measurement from the University Institute of Public Opinion of the UCA (IUDOP), the ongoing discrediting that President Nayib Bukele and his circle make the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) is beginning to take its toll.
In their most recent pre-election measurement, they show that 46.2% of people have little faith in the electoral authority and 21.9% do not. In other words, almost 7 out of 10 respondents show suspicion of the TSE.
This coincides with a systematic campaign of defamation and attack by the President and his co-religionists against the Court, dating back to even before his arrival for President on June 1, 2019.
Previously, under the excuse that the color of the GANA flag on the presidential vote was incorrect, violent gangs on Bukele’s side and some now officials came to besiege and harass the electoral body.
And more recently, another group of radicalized fanatics detained the institution’s staff in the Tribunal without letting them leave. This is in light of the National Civil Police who have not arrested them.
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All this while reporting fraud without providing any evidence. These statements take their toll on the TSE, an important institution not only to protect the integrity of the elections, but also to ensure the order and social peace that come from knowing that the popular will is respected. According to electoral expert Malcolm Cartagena, this continued discrediting of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal “pays nothing to the democratic process.”
The expert adds that the court “has shown that, although it makes mistakes, it has removed all electoral processes without any problems since the peace agreements,” adding that 29 elections have passed without problems, including the one Nayib Bukele to the Presidency.
Cartagena notes how the Tribunal had high credibility and confidence after the 2014 election, successfully managing it despite allegations of fraud and a slight difference between the then FMLN and ARENA candidates.
“In 2015, his confidence had fallen with the arrival of the cross ballot, but in 2018 and 2019 his levels improved again,” he recalls. But he adds that “with this kind of rhetoric being used by the president attacking the institution, it is normal for the weight of his opinion to arouse suspicion and a deterioration in the image of the TSE.”
According to deputy election preferences, the Iudop poll reflects a great advantage for new ideas. In San Salvador, 73.2% is for NI; 6.8% for ARENA and 5.6% for the FMLN. In Santa Ana, NI stands out with 68.6%; 5%, by ARENA; and 3.8% for GANA. In San Miguel, 59.9% of the population is said to vote for new ideas; 6.4% of the FMLN; and 6.1% SAND.