A large proportion of the votes cast in the presidential and parliamentary elections in El Salvador must be recounted due to technical issues, the president of the Supreme Electoral Court said.
Nearly 30% of the ballot boxes used for the presidential election and all ballot boxes used for the parliamentary election in the Central American country will have to be checked, Dora Martínez said.
After 70% of the votes had been counted, President Nayib Bukele was in the lead with 83% on Monday morning. Since then, however, the results have not been updated in the electoral authority’s electronic system.
The delays in the parliamentary elections’ results were even more serious.
Only 5 per cent of the votes have been counted so far.
Local media reported problems such as a duplication of votes when uploading the data to the electronic system.
Bukele had already declared himself the winner of the election late on Sunday before the first results were announced.
He also announced that his Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas) party had won at least 58 of El Salvador parliament’s 60 seats.
The conservative head of state is known for his crackdown on crime and his authoritarian approach.
El Salvador’s constitution actually prohibits the direct re-election of the president.
However, constitutional judges loyal to the government allowed Bukule to run.
To circumvent the ban, the head of state only has to take a leave of absence for six months – until the day of the planned inauguration on June 1. (dpa /NAN)
