SANTA TECLA, El Salvador — The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) announced Sunday it will compete in El Salvador’s 2027 presidential, legislative, and municipal elections.
It also confirmed that it will allow non-members to run under its banner and permit local constituencies to decide coalition strategies.
The decision, approved during the party’s 45th National Convention, marks a significant shift in the FMLN’s internal rules as it attempts to recover after its steep electoral losses in 2024.
FMLN Secretary General Manuel “El Chino” Flores said Monday that the convention authorized a process to “citizenize” candidacies, meaning individuals may seek nomination without party membership or participating in internal elections.
Flores said the measure relies on Article 28 of the party’s statutes, which provides the framework for establishing alliance policies and opening candidacies to the public under FMLN colors.
Under the plan, citizen candidates will bypass internal primaries entirely. At the same time, party members must still compete and win in their respective districts to secure nominations for submission to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
The Political Parties Law, specifically Article 37, requires internal elections to select candidates for popularly elected office, with voting guaranteed to be free, direct, equal, and secret.
Flores said delegates voted by majority to confirm participation in all 2027 contests and emphasized that the national leadership will no longer impose coalition decisions.
He said each constituency—national, departmental, or municipal—will determine its alliances or coalitions, arguing that local autonomy will strengthen the party’s strategic positioning.
Flores added that the FMLN welcomes social, grassroots, and “dynamic” alliances as part of a broader effort to build long-term political cooperation beyond electoral cycles.
He described the party’s goal as forming a broad social and cultural alliance capable of fostering a country “where no one is threatened,” rather than focusing solely on electoral pacts.
Flores said the decision to compete in 2027 reflects a commitment to offering citizens electoral choices and preventing what he described as attempts to “steal” local or legislative representation.
He urged supporters to defend their votes, warning that electoral abuses harm the public, not just candidates, and insisting that the FMLN will safeguard its positions in the upcoming cycle.
The party’s restructuring comes after it captured only 6.4% of the presidential vote in 2024, losing all mayoral and legislative representation and retaining just one seat in the Central American Parliament.
Financial reports from the Ministry of Finance show the party received $2,591,590.36 in political debt for the 2024 elections, underscoring the scale of its rebuilding effort ahead of the 2027 elections.
