Observer describes Salvadoran election
By Bill Mason
BRISBANE — Fraud on a massive scale disrupted the recent elections in El Salvador, Dr Coral Wynter, a member of an independent delegation of Australian observers, told a fundraising dinner here on April 15.
The dinner, organised by Australian Aid for El Salvador, was held in support of the Farabundo Mart¡ National Liberation Front (FMLN).
Wynter was part of a team of five women from the Committees in Solidarity with Latin America and the Caribbean (CISLAC), who visited Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador in February and March.
The FMLN-supported Democratic Convergence gained around 25% in the March 20 poll, while the extreme right-wing ARENA party received 49%. ARENA has thus been forced to a second round poll for the presidency — a victory for the progressive forces in itself.
The entire electoral process was aimed at limiting popular participation to a minimum, with less than half the eligible population allowed to cast a vote. Voters, especially from FMLN-controlled regions, were unable to gain a voting card, or found they were not on the roll on polling day (March 20), Wynter explained.
After many years of guerilla warfare in the mountains, the opportunity to mobilise mass support for democracy and progressive policies had been positive for the FMLN.