Photo Credit: Presidencia El Salvador from San Salvador, El Salvador, América Central
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele

Former San Salvador Mayor Nayib Bukele has claimed victory in the national elections of El Salvador to become the nation’s next president.

The 37-year-old president-elect was born in San Salvador to a local businessman and imam of “Palestinian” descent although sparse detail seems to be available about his ancestry. Bukele was already running a company by the age of 18 presently is the owner of Yamaha Motors El Salvador.

Advertisement




By Sunday night, he had won 53.78 percent of the votes with 87.67 percent of the ballots counted – enough to eliminate the need for a runoff vote next month, according to the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

“At this moment we can announce with total certainty that we have won the presidency,” he declared, after having run with the newly-formed center-right Grand Alliance for National Unity.

His rivals, former Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez of the ruling FMLN party and Carlos Calleja of the ARENA party, conceded defeat. Salvadorans were seen as being tired of the long-time gang violence and limping economy in the central American nation.

Bukele takes office on June 1, 2019.


Share this article on WhatsApp:
Advertisement

SHARE
Previous articleTerrorist Killed in Attack at Gilboa Crossing
Next articleLife Chronicles
Hana Levi Julian is a Middle East news analyst with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University. A past columnist with The Jewish Press and senior editor at Arutz 7, Ms. Julian has written for Babble.com, Chabad.org and other media outlets, in addition to her years working in broadcast journalism.