| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Asamblea legislativa / Legislative Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
12 March 2006 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
Parliamentary elections were held on 12 March 2006. As in the 2003 elections, the main contenders were the National Republican Alliance (ARENA), which has ruled the country since 1989, and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), formed by former leftist guerrillas.
In 2003, ARENA won 27 seats and subsequently formed a coalition government with the right-wing National Conciliation Party (PCN), which held 16 seats. The FMLN won 31, while the United Democratic Centre (CDU) and the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) won five seats each.
In the March 2004 presidential elections, Mr. Elias Antonio Saca of ARENA defeated the FMLN's Mr. Schafik Jorge Handal. After the presidential elections, a new party called Democratic Change (CD) was formed by some former members of the FMLN, the CDU, and the PDC.
The 2006 elections took place shortly after the sudden death of Mr. Handal on 24 January 2006, whose funeral was attended by more than 100,000 people. The FMLN accompanied its electoral campaign with music in honour of Mr. Handal. The party pledged to appeal to the Supreme Court to annul the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which came into force on 1 March 2006 in El Salvador. On the other hand, ARENA campaigned hard on the country's good relationship with the United States, highlighting the extension on 24 February 2006 of the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) which gives immunity from prosecution for immigration violations to some 225,000 undocumented Salvadorans in the USA.
On election day, 52.56 per cent of the 3.8 million eligible voters turned out at the polls.
The elections went off in relative peace, although the Organization of American States (OAS) noted some irregularities during the voting process, such as late opening of some polling stations, and technical problems related to the indelible ink used to prevent multiple voting, which reportedly caused burns or allergic reactions and forced some voters to go to hospital.
The final results gave no party an absolute majority. ARENA came in first, winning 34 seats, seven more than in 2003. ARENA's traditional coalition partner PCN lost six seats, winning ten. The opposition FMLN obtained 32 seats, one more than in the last elections. The PDC gained one more seat, six in all. Contesting its first parliamentary elections, the CD won two seats.
The newly-elected Legislative Assembly held its first session on 2 May 2006 and elected Mr. Rubén Orellana of the PCN as its new Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 12 March 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
3'801'040
1'997'814 (52.56%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| National Republican Alliance (ARENA) |
|
783'208 |
|
|
39.20 |
|
|
| Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) |
|
784'894 |
|
|
39.29 |
|
|
| National Conciliation Party (PCN) |
|
228'196 |
|
|
11.42 |
|
|
| Christian Democratic Party (PDC) |
|
138'538 |
|
|
6.94 |
|
|
| Democratic Change (CD) |
|
61'022 |
|
|
3.05 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Gain/Loss |
|
|
|
| National Republican Alliance (ARENA) |
34
|
7 |
|
|
|
| Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) |
32
|
1 |
|
|
|
| National Conciliation Party (PCN) |
10
|
-6 |
|
|
|
| Christian Democratic Party (PDC) |
6
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Democratic Change (CD) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
70
14
16.67%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://www.elsalvador.com/especiales/2006/elecciones/noticias/index.asp
- Assemblée législative (23.05.2006) |
A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page