The constant discredit that President Nayib Bukele and his circle are facing the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) is beginning to influence his situation, according to the latest measurement by the UCA University Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP)
In the most recent pre-election measure, they show that 46.2% of people have little confidence in the electoral authority and 21.9% none. In other words, almost 7 out of 10 respondents distrust the TSE.
This coincides with a systematic campaign of defeat and attack by the President and his co-religionists against the Court, which returns just before his arrival to the presidency on 1 June 2019.
Before that, under the pretext that the color of the GANA flag on the presidential ballot was incorrect, violent crowds from Bukele and some officials now came to besiege and harass the electorate.
Even more recently, another group of radicalized fanatics kept the staff of the institution inside the Tribunal, without letting them go. This is in view of the national civil police who did not arrest them.
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All this, reporting fraud without providing any evidence. These statements affect its TSE, a key institution not only to protect the integrity of elections, but also to protect social order and peace resulting from the knowledge of respect for the will of the people. According to electoral expert Malcolm Cartagena, this constant discredit of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal “pays nothing to the democratic process.”
The expert adds that the court “showed that, although it makes mistakes, it smoothly eliminated all electoral processes from the Peace Accords” and adds that there were 29 elections administered without problems, including the elections that led Nayib Bukele to the presidency. .
Cartagena mentions how the Tribunal had high credibility and trust after the 2014 elections, which it successfully managed despite allegations of fraud and a narrow gap between the then FMLN and ARENA candidates.
“In 2015 he had a drop in confidence due to the arrival of the cross-vote, but again in 2018 and 2019 his levels improved,” he recalls. He adds, however, that “with this kind of rhetoric used by the president who attacks the institution, it is natural that the weight of his opinion generates mistrust and a deterioration of the image of the TSE.”
According to the electoral preferences for the deputies, the Iudop poll reflects a great advantage for the new ideas. In San Salvador 73.2% is for NI; 6.8% for ARENA and 5.6% for FMLN. In Santa Ana, NI stands out with 68.6%; 5%, by ARENA; and 3.8% in GANA. In San Miguel, 59.9% of the population would vote for new ideas; 6.4% FMLN; and 6.1% SAND.