In 2009, the FMLN had more than 900,000 votes in the parliamentary elections and ARENA 850,000. In these elections, the FMLN fell to 175,000 and ARENA to 295,000.
The parliamentary elections of February 28 have reshaped the political map in El Salvador. The New Ideas party, which took part in these elections for the first time, has had the most votes in the parliamentary elections since 1994. While the traditional parties ARENA and the FMLN dropped as much as 79% in votes compared to the last election.
On February 28, Nuevas Ideas garnered more than 1.6 million votes according to preliminary data published by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). The votes obtained were almost double the average achieved by ARENA and the FMLN in the previous elections. But did the votes that ARENA and the FMLN lost to New Ideas? How was the election participation in the last parliamentary elections?
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The FMLN began to participate in elections in 1994. It started with a similar number of votes to its rival ARENA: 350,000. As the elections progressed, it reached 943,000 votes in 2009; year in which he not only obtained the majority of the votes in the legislature, but also won the presidency. But in 2012 he started to lose votes; he lost just over 100,000 in those parliamentary elections. As far back as 2018, it lost half of that power and now it has dropped to 175,000.
“The FMLN is in decline. In the 2019 presidential, it was the total disaster. That was already a trend it brought. FMLN’s tough vote was rescinded before ARENA’s tough vote; the rest of the votes were fleeting, ”said Eduardo Escobar of the Citizen Action organization.
Another panorama with its rival ARENA, which received just over 800,000 votes in 2018. A number that stayed with the presidential elections of 2019. The Bukele phenomenon did not hit ARENA too much that year, but in 2021 the reality was different.
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ARENA obtained 886,000 votes in the 2018 parliamentary elections. The preliminary results of this latest election bring him 295,000; 67% fewer votes. “The traditional parties have not bothered to change the old practices, we have not seen those drinkable and structural changes. (…) Both parties have fallen and are in their greatest decline, especially the FMLN. This time, the population took their toll by abstaining or turning their votes over to New Ideas, ”said Eduardo Rosales of the National Development Foundation (FUNDE).
In legislative and municipal elections since 1994, an average turnout of 44% has been achieved. These parliamentary elections had a participation rate of 51%, the highest since then.