An opinion poll released on Monday suggests that El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele could win the 2024 elections with 68.4% of the votes, despite the ongoing debate about his constitutional eligibility for re-election. The survey, conducted by the Center for Citizen Studies at the Francisco Gavidia University, reveals that Bukele’s closest opponent from the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) has only 4.3% support. Candidates from the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) have 2.8% support. Furthermore, null votes account for 9.2% and abstentions for 9.9%.
According to the pollster, the 42-year-old president has a significant number of devoted voters, which can be attributed in part to his controversial strategy in combating crime. Despite international condemnation, Bukele’s approach has gained support within the country. In a television interview, the survey’s director Oscar Picardo remarked, “We concluded that in El Salvador there is a kind of cult phenomenon related to the president (Bukele).”
The survey was conducted from August 15 to 21 and has a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.
Bukele has expressed his intention to run for re-election, even though the constitution prohibits consecutive terms. The country’s top court, whose members were appointed by the president’s party-controlled congress, ruled in 2021 that Bukele could seek re-election.
In September, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal will convene to register official candidates. While they theoretically have the power to block Bukele, the chances of this happening appear to be slim.
Salvadorans are scheduled to vote on February 4 to elect a president and vice president for the 2024-2029 term.
Reporting by Nelson Renteria, Writing by Isabel Woodford; editing by Grant McCool
Credit: The Star : News Feed
