El Salvador kicks off election campaigns as incumbent's bid faces criticism over constitutionality
SAN SALVADOR, Oct 3 (Reuters) -El Salvador's political parties launched their campaigns for the upcoming presidential elections on Tuesday, amid vocal criticism from the opposition that President Nayib Bukele will seek re-election despite it being prohibited by the constitution.
More than 6 million Salvadorans are set to hit the polls on Feb. 4 to elect a president and vice president, who govern for five-year terms.
Bukele is heavily favored to win re-election in the Central American nation, whose constitution forbids consecutive terms. However, the Supreme Court, filled with Bukele-backed judges, ruled in 2021 a second term was nonetheless permissible.
A recent poll by Francisco Gavidia University's Citizen Studies Center found that Bukele and his running mate, Vice President Felix Ulloa, have 68.4% support from voters, with the next-closest competitors at just 4.3%.
Bukele, 42, enjoys unprecedented popularity off the back of his crackdown on crime, which has boosted safety in the country as rights organizations allege serious human rights violations against those arrested for alleged gang ties, which on Tuesday totaled more than 73,000.
The president has denied abuses and rejected reports that he had agreed to truces with gangs.
A September document obtained by Reuters showed Salvadoran police believed nearly 43,000 peopletied to gangs still remained free. The country now has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Josie Kao
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
