El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's Allies Gain Supermajority in Congress After Contentious Vote
President Nayib Bukele and his New Ideas party do not just have the presidency, but they now also have a supermajority in El Salvador's Congress after a painstaking and highly contested vote count where the opposition wanted the votes thrown out.
The New Ideas Party now has 54 out of 60 seats in the El Salvador Congress, which means that party members would not have any problems in passing legislation as they would basically be unopposed. With them controlling the presidency and with Bukele allies dominating the Supreme Court, they now have all three branches of government.
There were numerous reports of irregularities, glitches, and power and internet outages, leading to the country's electoral authority having to hand count the votes, declaring a failure in the voting system. This came after Bukele declared himself the winner of the presidential election, which he won by a landslide due to his popular gang crackdown.
Electoral authorities confirmed Bukele's victory on Sunday, as the self-proclaimed "World's Coolest Dictator" won 85% of the vote, with his party gaining the supermajority the very next day, according to Reuters.
This means that he now has unprecedented power that would allow him to change the country's constitution and continue to shelve constitutional rights as part of his popular crackdown against gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18.
Meanwhile, the fractured opposition parties each hold less than three seats in the El Salvador Congress, with the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and National Concertion parties each holding two seats, while Christian Democratic and VAMOS parties each hold just one seat.
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Electoral Observers Raise Alarms on Nayib Bukele Supermajority After El Salvador Elections
Meanwhile, as Bukele and his party are celebrating their big victory, members of the opposition, as well as independent electoral observers, including those from the Organization of American States (OAS) have been raising alarms on alleged irregularities.
Opposition members pointed out that ballots were marked with pen instead of the designated crayon, with many of these ballots not being folded. Meanwhile, the OAS continued to raise alarms about the "lack of control" by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal on vote counting, according to the Associated Press, as the decisions on the vote counting were "in the hands of the representatives of the political parties."
US Already Congratulated El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on His Electoral Wiin
Meanwhile, the United States has already congratulated Nayib Bukele on his win. The US Department of State released a statement congratulating Bukele and talked about El Salvador-US relations.
"I congratulate Nayib Bukele on his electoral victory as President of El Salvador" said Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. "The United States commends the work of electoral observers and looks forward to working with President-elect Bukele and Vice President-elect Felix Ulloa following their inauguration in June."
"The United States values our strong relationship with the people of El Salvador, forged over 160 years and built on shared values, regional ties, and family connections," he added. "Events in El Salvador have a direct impact on U.S. interests at home and abroad. Only by working together can we achieve our full potential and overcome the greatest obstacles in our hemisphere and globally."
READ MORE: El Salvador: Military and Police Surround Town To Root Out MS-13 Gang Members
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Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: El Salvador re-elects Nayib Bukele as president in a landslide - Guardian News