Technical problems: electoral votes in El Salvador are being recounted. Seven American fighters killed in attack in Syria

A large portion of the votes cast in El Salvador’s presidential and parliamentary elections must be recounted. Due to technical problems, almost 30 percent of ballot boxes used for presidential elections and all ballot boxes used for parliamentary elections in the Central American country would have to be checked, Supreme Court President Dora Martínez announced. on Monday (local time).

After 70 percent of the votes had been counted, controversial head of state Nayib Bukele took the lead with 83 percent on Monday morning (local time). However, the results have not been updated in the electoral authority’s electronic system since then. Delays were even more serious in the parliamentary elections, with only five percent of votes counted so far. Media reported issues such as voice duplication when uploading data to the electronic system.

President Bukele had already declared himself the winner of the elections before the first results were announced. In addition, his party Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas) won at least 58 of the 60 seats in parliament, he announced. The conservative head of state is known for his tough approach to crime and his authoritarian course. El Salvador’s constitution effectively prohibits the direct re-election of the president. However, constitutional judges loyal to the government allowed Bukele to run for office. (sda/dpa)