Photo by Element5 Digital 

El Salvador’s President and leader of the Nuevas Ideas party, Nayib Bukele, has declared a major victory in the 28 February legislative elections, following a projection that his party and its allies have won the biggest congressional majority in the country’s history. According to electoral authorities, Nueva Ideas and GANA won approximately 70% of the vote in the legislative election and approximately 50% of votes in the municipal elections held the same day. The full ballot count for both elections have yet to be announced. Nuevas Ideas will now have sweeping powers in Congress to progress Bukele’s legislative agenda, to elect an attorney general and to appoint Supreme Court judges.

Financial markets have responded positively to the election, which is hoped to bring an end to the political gridlock caused by past disagreements between Bukele’s Government and the Legislative Assembly. Since his election in 2019, tensions had been on the rise between the President and the country’s formerly dominant parties Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional and Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, which have been at odds with the President Bukele over his governance style and response to the COVID-19 crisis. El Salvador sovereign dollar bonds jumped after Bukele’s announced win, with many issues trading at their highest levels in a year.