El Salvador: Legislative Election, 1 March 2015

At stake in this election:

•  84 seats in the Asamblea Legislativa (Legislative Assembly)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN (since 1 June 2014)
• Head of Government: President Salvador SANCHEZ CEREN
• Assembly: El Salvador has a unicameral Asamblea Legislativa (Legislative Assembly) consisting of 84 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• Members of the Legislative Assembly are directly elected in multi-seat constituencies and a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote to serve 3-year terms.

Last Election:

• Elections were last held on 11 March 2012. The National Republican Alliance (ARENA) took 33 seats, followed by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), which took 31. The Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) took 11, the National Conciliation Party took 6, and the Party of Hope, Democratic Change, and Party of Hope – National Conciliation Party took 1 seat each.

Main candidates in the election:

• National Republican Alliance (ARENA)
  • Leader: Jorge VELADO
  • Seats won in last election: 33
• Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN)
  • Leader: Medardo GONZALEZ
  • Seats won in last election: 21
• Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA)
  • Leader: Jose Andres ROVIRA Caneles
  • Seats won in last election: 11
• National Conciliation Party
  • Leader: Manuel RODRIGUEZ
  • Seats won in last election: 6

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 6,141,350 (July 2015 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 4,911,672 (2015)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 3,185,578 (July 2015 est.)

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

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

·         Gender Quota: Yes[1]

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 27 (32.14%)

·         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: 921,203