At stake in this election:

• The office of President of El Salvador

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez *
• Head of Government: President Elias Antonio SACA Gonzalez
• Assembly: El Salvador has a unicameral Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) with 84 seats.

* The president is both the chief of state and head of government.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Legislative Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa) 84 members are elected by party-list system with proportional distribution of seats to serve 3-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Mauricio FUNES
  • Party: Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front / Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN)
• Rodrigo ÁVILA
  • Party: Nationalist Republican Alliance / Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (ARENA)

Last Presidential election:

• ARENA candidate Antonioo SACA won El Salvador's last presidential election, which was held on 21 March 2004.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 6,021,368 (2009)
• Registered Voters: 4,226,479 (January 2009 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 3,170,420 (2009)

·         Is El Salvador a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (14 November 1980)

·         Has El Salvador ratified CEDAW: Yes (19 August 1981)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 16 (following the 2009 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 116 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is El Salvador a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has El Salvador ratified CRPD: Yes (14 December 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 903,205 (est.)