If women in El Salvador used the power of their vote, they could reverse the trend that places them in a minority in terms of the percentage of those who occupy popularly elected positions, currently a low proportion compared to men.
Luis Beatón
In recent elections, women outnumbered men by 53.39% to 46.61 in voter registration, according to data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
In San Salvador, a total of 802,172 out of 1,473,310 (or 54.4%) of voters are women. The register from abroad shows that out of 571,705 registered voters living in other countries, 251,563 of whom are women, or 44%.
These numbers show that women in El Salvador are emerging as a determining and weighty factor in the outcome of the next presidential elections and the race for other elective positions, as reflected by data from the Electoral Registry.
Although it is still too early to anticipate the presidential elections scheduled by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) for Sunday, 4 February 2024, the issue is already beginning to surface, especially when some sectors speak of the continued election of the current president, Nayib Bukele.
Until 29 August this year, the electoral registry recognised 6,061,549 Salvadorans, of whom a total of 571,705 possible voters in the 2024 elections reside abroad, a factor that will also have important weight in the polls, and the New Ideas party is working to attract them.
The potential population of voters abroad grew at a much higher rate than the national one, according to data from the electoral regulator, which confirms that domestically it increased by only 1.9 percent, while the number of Salvadorans abroad with the right to vote grew to 32.5 percent.
For the preparation of the electoral register, until 2021 Salvadorans abroad were excluded due to the lack of laws on voting in municipal and assembly elections, something that was resolved by the Legislative Power, in which the ruling party, Nuevas Ideas, had a majority.
In this scenario of anticipatig the electoral race of 2024, interesting data is evident, which should influence the campaigns that the different political groups will organise with their eyes set on the presidential seat.
For example, 24.3 % of voters are concentrated in the department of San Salvador, 10.97 % reside in the department of La Libertad, 9.43 % abroad, and 8.4% in the department of Santa Ana.
Whoever achieves the greatest support in these places during the campaign would surely obtain the necessary votes to win the elections.
Another important factor how young people between 18 and 29 years old will vote.
This group is represented by 1,571,721 Salvadorans who are presumably inclined to listen to the pragmatic language of modernity in the message of the current government.
According to statistical records, in the case of candidates for deputies of the Legislative Assembly in 2019, the TSE registered a total of 655 people as candidates for proprietary deputations, 233 were women (35.57 %, and 422 men, 64.43 %). And of the 655 substitute candidates registered, 385 were women (58.78% and 270 men, 41.22 %). It is a challenge for women who barely occupy 24 seats as representatives (28.57 %), while those of the opposite sex occupy 60 seats (71.43 %), which can undoubtedly be reversed if the so-called weaker sex assert their rights. PL
(Translated by Hannah Phelvin) – Photos: Pixabay
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