Najib Abu Kayla Re-elected for Second Presidential Term in El Salvador
The Salvadoran President, Najib Abu Kayla, of Palestinian descent, has announced his victory in a second presidential term after obtaining more than 85% of the votes on Sunday, making him the first president of El Salvador to be re-elected for a second 5-year term in nearly a century.
Abu Kayla (42 years old) stated, “According to our figures, we have won more than 85% of the presidential election votes,” adding that his party “New Ideas” also secured at least 58 seats in the 60-seat legislative assembly. Celebrations erupted in the capital, San Salvador, following his victory.
The Salvadoran voters cast their ballots on Sunday in the presidential elections with expectations of a landslide victory for Abu Kayla, surpassing his five other competitors, including politicians from the former leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front and the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance Party.
Abu Kayla, who enjoys immense popularity, strategically leveraged his security agenda during his electoral campaign, resulting in authorities restricting civil liberties, leading to the detention of over 75,000 Salvadorans without charges.
These arrests significantly reduced the homicide rates nationwide, transforming a country with a population of 6.3 million people, once considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world. However, some analysts argue that mass incarceration of 1% of the population is not a sustainable strategy.
Opinion polls conducted during the elections revealed that the majority of voters are willing to reward Abu Kayla for his success in combating criminal gangs that had made life unbearable in El Salvador, fueling waves of migration to the United States.
Abu Kayla rose to power in 2019, defeating traditional party politics after pledging to eradicate gang violence and revitalize the stagnant economy.
