Results released so far show that El Salvador’s incumbent President Nayib Bukele marked a landslide victory, indicating that he could be re-elected for a second term.
Bukele’s administration cracked down on gang violence in El Salvador and made history with the adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country.
Another Five Years for President Nayib Bukele
In an X post, Bukele declared himself the winner of the Presidential election, which was held on Feb. 4, 2024. According to the post, Bukele’s political party, Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas), won with over 85% of the votes “and a minimum of 58 of 60 deputies in the Assembly.”
De acuerdo a nuestros números, hemos ganado la elección presidencial con más del 85% de los votos y un mínimo de 58 de 60 diputados de la Asamblea.
El récord en toda la historia democrática del mundo.
Nos vemos a las 9pm frente al Palacio Nacional.
Dios bendiga a El Salvador.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 5, 2024
Subsequent reports reaffirmed his announcement, with small deviations of the percentages. According to The Guardian, Bukele won 83% of the votes.
Meanwhile, preliminary results from 31.49% of votes last updated by Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE), El Salvador’s highest electoral authority, show that Nuevas Ideas was leading the votes with nearly 1.3 million. The two major opposition parties, Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) and the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), had 110,244 and 96,700 votes, respectively.
Bukele first revealed plans to run for reelection in 2022, even when El Salvador’s constitution prohibited Presidents from having two consecutive five-term tenures. However, a Supreme Court ruling in 2021 allowed the incumbent President to run for a second term.
Since becoming the President of El Salvador in 2019, Bukele has enjoyed high approval ratings from the public. One of his major achievements is the crackdown on gang violence in the country, with authorities making mass arrests, consequently reducing the rate of crime and violence.
A Bitcoin-Loving President
Bukele is also known as one of the most vocal supporters of Bitcoin (BTC). In 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender, a move that was criticized by international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Since then, the El Salvadoran President has been accumulating BTC on behalf of the country. According to a website called Nayib Tracker, the country’s stash of 2,825 BTC is currently valued at over $121 million.
Apart from buying BTC, Bukele has also introduced some BTC-friendly initiatives, such as volcano bonds, along with plans to establish a Bitcoin City.
If Bukele is officially confirmed the winner of the current Presidential elections, his administration will continue to forge ahead with its Bitcoin plans, according to Felix Ulloa, El Salvador’s Vice President, which includes the planned launch of Bitcoin-backed bonds in Q1 2024.
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