Sticky Electoral Process

It is hard to believe I have already been here three weeks! The time certainly has gone by quickly, mostly because it has been packed with activities and meetings. We have met with four of the six political parties, members of the Salvadoran groups that monitor the electoral process, representatives of the Organization of American States and election organizers in order to get a complete sense of what the two elections will look like. 

El Salvador's elections will happen in two rounds this year. Presidential elections happen every five years while legislative and municipal elections happen every three years, so that means that every fifteen years El Salvador is due for two elections at once. This year however, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal decided to separate the elections by two months. The municipal and legislative elections occur in January, but most voters will take the effort to vote for the president in March. The change of plans will cost five million dollars, not to mention the fact that people in rural communities have to transport themselves to voting centers twice if they wish to participate. Considering that bus fare can cost as much as a day's wage ($2), it is unlikely that the majority of voters will show up on both days, but the Tribunal (which is dominated by the right wing) didn't seem to take that into consideration. 

This would not be as large of an issue if it weren't for the fact that people have to travel long distances to arrive at voting centers, only to wait in long lines and in the case of farmers who even work on Sundays (the designated election day), lose a day of work. The FMLN, the left-wing political party, has proposed residential voting in order to help resolve the problem, but their opponents in the Tribunal declare that it would take too much money. However, an experiment in bringing voting centers closer to the people will be carried out in one state in 2009 in order to see whether there is greater voter turn-out. Considering that the highest turn-out rate ever is predicted for these elections, it is likely that the experiment will show positive results and hopefully encourage such a system to spread throughout the country in the future. 

Unfortunately getting people out to vote is not going to solve all of the problems with the electoral process here. The main concern that we have heard from almost everyone so far is regarding a concept called "firma y sello" - signature and stamp. When Salvadorans pick up their ballot, the official at the table is required to sign and stamp the ballot in order to show that it is a valid ballot. But when people show up wearing their party's colors, officials in the past have pretended (but failed) to sign or stamp the ballot because they are members of the opposing party, thus making the vote null. So there has been much debate regarding whether to simply get rid of the sign and stamp law, or to provide some other oversight to ensure that no valid vote becomes null, but no agreement has been made and everyone has a different idea as to whether or not the sign and stamp will be (or should be) required. All this confusion will carry into election day and allow for even more manipulation. For example, a voter could show up at the table and demand that their ballot be stamped and signed, but the official may insist that it is unnecessary under a new law, even if such a law is not passed. What a mess. 

And I still haven't mentioned the sticky situation regarding the voter identification process. A private business issues everyone's DUI, or official form of identification, to natural citizens who are 18 or older without government oversight. Then when one registers to vote, their photo is placed next to their name on a list that is displayed at the voting center where the voter is registered. Here are some of the problems among many: sometimes the photos differ, the ink on the DUI has been known to rub off, some people don't have an official address, or they wish to vote where they work instead of where they live. This, like the stamp and signature question, has been one of the main concerns of voters and officials alike. 

From what I can tell, the overarching problem facing the electoral process is that everything is controlled by the political parties. There is not a single Salvadoran non-partisan group that has responsibility for ensuring that the process is carried out smoothly. The hierarchy of assemblies that organizes the elections and enforces electoral law is represented by members of the political parties that won the most votes in the previous elections. This means that in most, if not all, of the municipalities have one ARENA member (right wing), one FMLN member (left wing), one PCN member (right wing), and then two of the so-called centrist parties who are small and somewhat disorganized. This means that in the five-member assemblies the right with almost always outnumbers the left, thus giving them an advantage in decision making or "law enforcement".

The solution is not as easy as creating a non-partisan organization out of thin air because polarization between left and right has created an atmosphere where standing in the middle is not an option. I think this stems from the civil war and the struggle for control, not only of politics, but of capital. Two factors have the potential to quell some of this animosity. One, that the FMLN presidential candidate was not a party member until they proposed to put him on the ballot. He has many proposals that would potentially shift the party line more toward the center. Secondly, the vice-presidential candidate for ARENA formerly had sympathies toward the FMLN and simply jumped on the ARENA ballot for political convenience. He also may have the tendency to move the far right-wing party a little closer to the middle. Regardless of who "wins" the presidency, party lines will change somewhat and hopefully the polarization will be lessened.

But I shouldn't fall into the trap that I see in the media here. The legislative elections are also an important opportunity to see change of power. As soon as I get some more research done on that front I will report some more. Another topic I will just have to save for next time in the name of brevity is the "dirty campaigns," or the slander used by the right wing to invoke fear in poor people. But more on that later.

On a more personal note...

I have decided to move into my own apartment. I can live more inexpensively, closer to the office, and have some more independence. As much as I love Rosita y Angel, I think the benefits of living alone outweigh the benefits of staying put. And so... those of you coming to visit will have a place to stay!