Political parties in El Salvador formally wrapped up their campaigns on February 25 ahead of local and legislative elections schedule for March 1, with polls showing the left-wing Farabundu Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) ahead of right-wing rivals.
Electors in Latin America's smallest country will head to the polls to elect mayors as well as representatives to the country's Legislative Assembly.
Most parties vying for seats choose to close their campaigns with public events, but the FMLN opted to break with tradition and donate the money it would have spent on a rally. The party will donate US $30,000 to three charitable causes.
The FMLN is hoping to increase its representation in the Legislative Assembly in order to help move forward the FLMN government's priorities. Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a former guerrilla commander during El Salvador's civil war, won presidential elections in February last year.
Sanchez Ceren replaced Mauricio Funes, who was backed by the FMLN although not an FMLN member.
Norma Guevara, an FMLN candidate for the Legislative Assembly, said: “We have found a very positive response in favor of the FMLN, there is support, we have the confidence that we should continue supporting and accompanying the president, Salvador Sanchez Ceren, there should be a Legislative Assembly that backs him.”
A national poll conducted ahead of the election puts the leftist FMLN ahead of its right-wing rival 35.7% to 27.4%. A local poll has Nayib Bukele, the FMLN candidate for mayor in the capital of San Salvador, leading by nearly 20 points.
[Reprinted from TeleSUR English.]