Christian Democratic Party (El Salvador)

The Christian Democratic Party (Spanish: Partido Demócrata Cristiano) is a Christian democratic party in El Salvador. After being officially disbanded by the Supreme Court in 2011, it continued to work under the name of Party of Hope (Spanish: Partido de la Esperanza), before re-taking its original name in 2012.

Christian Democratic Party

Partido Demócrata Cristiano
LeaderRodolfo Parker
Founded12 October 1960 (PDC)
2011 (Party of Hope)
HeadquartersAlameda Juan Pablo II y 11 Avenida Norte bis. 507 Centro de Gobierno, San Salvador, El Salvador
IdeologyChristian democracy
Political positionCentre
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
Regional affiliationChristian Democrat Organization of America
PARLACEN groupDemocratic Centre
Seats in the Legislative Assembly
3 / 84
Mayors
2 / 262
Central American Parliament
1 / 20
Website
pdcelsalvador.org
1982 PDC election poster

In the legislative elections, held on 16 March 2003, the party won 7.3% of the popular vote and 5 out of 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly. In the presidential election of 21 March 2004, the PDC supported Héctor Silva Argüello of the United Democratic Centre, who won 3% of the vote. In the 12 March 2006 legislative election, the party won 6.8% of the popular vote and 6 out of 84 seats. The party had a similar level of support for the 2009 legislative elections, winning 6% of the vote and 5 seats.

History

The Christian Democratic Party is the longest lasting of El Salvador's two leading parties. It was the left-of-center party while the Party of National Conciliation was right-of-center. With the rise of more socialist and communist parties in El Salvador, it became more of a centrist party. During the civil war, many leaders of the PDC who were more left-leaning were killed or disappeared, and the party moved to the right.

In 1989 Christian Democrat José Napoleón Duarte was the first Salvadoran president to democratically hand over power to a successor. The party's position has since shrunk with the rise of ARENA and FMLN.

However, since no party held a majority in the legislature, it could be seen as effectively holding the balance of power. It often sided with ARENA and supported their effort to ratify the Central American Free Trade Agreement and pass a law supposedly aimed at fighting terrorism.

They struggled to pick a presidential candidate for 2009. The vice presidential candidate lives in the United States and has campaigned promising to give Salvadorans abroad the opportunity to vote in future presidential elections.

While the party was technically to be disbanded after the 2004 election, in which its candidate did not gather the necessary 3% of the vote, it was allowed to hold on to its registration by decree; this decree was declared unconstitutional on 30 April 2011, and the party was thus disbanded.[1]

The PDC was effectively replaced by the Party of Hope, which was registered with the National Electoral Tribunal in October 2011.[2] In September 2012 the Party of Hope asked for its name to be changed back to Christian Democratic Party, which was allowed by the Electoral Tribunal.[3]

Electoral history

Presidential elections
Election Party candidate Votes % Votes % Result
First Round Second Round
1967 Abraham Rodríguez 106,358 21.62 - - Lost N
1972 José Napoleón Duarte 324,756 42.14 - - Lost N
1977 Ernesto Antonio Claramount Roseville 394,661 32.70 - - Lost N
1982 Supported Álvaro Magaña 36 60% - - Elected Y
1984 José Napoleón Duarte 549,727 43.41% 752,625 53.59% Elected Y
1989 Fidel Chávez Mena 342,732 36.5% - - Lost N
1994 214,277 16.4% - - Lost N
1999 Rodolfo Parker 67,207 5.68% - - Lost N
2004 Héctor Silva Argüello 88,737 3.90% - - Lost N
2009 Did not run
2014 Supported Antonio Saca (Unity Movement) 307,603 11.44% - - Lost N
2019 Supported Carlos Calleja (ARENA) 857,084 31.72% - - Lost N

Note

In the 1982 election Álvaro Magaña was elected by the Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly elections
Election Votes % Seats +/– Position
1961 64,9161 18.8%
0 / 54
 2nd
1964 77,315 26.1%
14 / 60
 14 2nd
1966 120,645 31.2%
15 / 60
 1 2nd
1968 193,248 43.3%
19 / 60
 4 2nd
1970 142,659 27.0%
16 / 60
 3 2nd
1972 119,1942 22.7%
8 / 60
 9 2nd
1974 unknown2
15 / 60
 7 2nd
1976 boycotted
0 / 60
 15
1978
0 / 60
1982 590,644 40.2%
24 / 60
 24 1st
1985 505,338 52.4%
33 / 60
 9 1st
1988 326,716 35.1%
22 / 60
 11 2nd
1991 294,029 28.0%
26 / 84
 4 2nd
1994 240,451 17.87%
18 / 84
 8 3rd
1997 93,545 8.4%
10 / 84
 8 4th
2000 87,074 7.2%
6 / 84
 4 4th
2003 101,841 7.3%
5 / 84
 1 4th
2006 106,509 6.8%
6 / 84
 1 4th
2009 146,904 6.63%
5 / 84
 1 4th
2012 60,486 2.76%
1 / 84
 4 5th
2015 56,353 2.48%
1 / 84
 5th
2018 65,994 3.11
3 / 84
 3 5th

1As part of Union of Democratic Parties an alliance of the Renovating Action Party, the Christian Democratic Party and the Social Democrat Party.

2As part of National Opposing Union an alliance of the Christian Democratic Party, the National Revolutionary Movement and the Nationalist Democratic Union

References
  1. El Salvador Supreme Court disbands two parties, BBC News, 30 April 2011, retrieved 12 March 2012
  2. "TSE ordena inscripción Partido de la Esperanza", La Prensa Grafica, 5 October 2011, archived from the original on 5 October 2011, retrieved 12 March 2012
  3. Rivera, Edgardo (26 September 2012), El PES volverá a llamarse PDC y el CN también busca ser PCN, archived from the original on 2 February 2014
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