National Coalition Party (El Salvador)

The National Coalition Party (Spanish: Partido de Concertación Nacional, PCN) is a nationalist political party in El Salvador. Until 2011 it was known as the National Conciliation Party (Spanish: Partido de Conciliación Nacional, PCN). It was the most powerful political party in the country during the 1960s and 1970s, and was closely associated with the Salvadoran military. Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo, a candidate of the National Conciliation Party, was elected president in 1962, and the next three presidents were also from the party. After the 1979 coup the party declined in influence but continued to exist.

National Coalition Party
Partido de Concertación Nacional
AbbreviationPCN
PresidentManuel Rodríguez
FounderJulio Adalberto Rivera
Founded30 September 1961; 63 years ago (1961-09-30)
Registered23 September 2011; 13 years ago (2011-09-23)
Split fromChristian Democratic Party[1]
HeadquartersCalle Los Granados #37, San Salvador, El Salvador
Membership (2019)7,200[2]
IdeologyNationalism[3]
Conservatism[4]
Political positionCenter-right[5] to right-wing[6]
Regional affiliationCenter-Democratic Integration Group
Colours  Blue
  White
Slogan«Towards Social Justice by the National Coalition»
(Spanish: «Hacia la Justicia Social por la Concertación Nacional»)[7]
Seats in the Legislative Assembly
2 / 60
Mayors
4 / 44
Seats in the PARLACEN
0 / 20
Website
pcnoficial.com
1982 election poster

History

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After 2000

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Today, it is considered relatively minor as compared with the three major organizations, ARENA, FMLN and Nuevas Ideas.

At the legislative elections, held on 16 March 2003, the party won 13.0% of the popular vote and 16 out of 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Its candidate in the presidential election of 21 March 2004, José Rafael Machuca Zelaya, won 2.7%. In the 12 March 2006 legislative election, the party won 11.0% of the popular vote and 10 out of 84 seats, a major decline in representation, but the party is still the third largest political party in El Salvador. At the January 18, 2009 legislative elections the party won 11 seats.

With no party holding a majority, it can be seen as holding the balance of power. However, it usually sides with the conservative ARENA party.

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.[8]

The party was de facto re-established, registering with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal as the National Coalition ('Concertación Nacional', CN) in September 2011.[9] After one year, it added the word 'Partido' ("party") to its full name, which allowed it to again use the traditional acronym PCN.[10] Since 2018, the party has 9 out of 84 congressmen and 25 out of 262 mayorship offices.

Electoral history

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Presidential elections

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Election Candidate First round Result
Votes %
1962 Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo 368,801
100%
Elected  Y
1967 Fidel Sánchez Hernández 267,447
54.37%
Elected  Y
1972 Arturo Armando Molina 334,600
43.42%
Elected  Y
1977 Carlos Humberto Romero 812,281
67.30%
Elected  Y
1982 Supported Álvaro Magaña (Democratic Action) 36
60%
Elected  Y
1984 José Francisco Guerrero 244,556
19.31%
Lost  N
1989 Rafael Morán Castañeda 38,218
4.1%
Lost  N
1994 Roberto Escobar García 70,504
5.4%
Lost  N
1999 Hernán Contreras 45,140
3.82%
Lost  N
2004 José Rafael Machuca Zelaya 61,781
2.71%
Lost  N
2009 Did not run
2014 Supported Antonio Saca (UNIDAD) 307,603
11.44%
Lost  N
2019 Supported Carlos Calleja (ARENA) 857,084
31.72%
Lost  N
2024 Supported Nayib Bukele (NI)[11] 2,701,725
84.65%
Won  Y

Legislative Assembly elections

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Election Votes % Position Seats +/– Status in legislature
1961 207,701 60.1%   1st
54 / 54
  54 Government
1964 176,620 58.6%
32 / 52
  22 Government
1966 207,586 53.6%
31 / 52
  1 Government
1968 212,661 47.7%
27 / 52
  4 Government
1970 315,560 59.8%
34 / 52
  7 Government
1972 353,775 67.4%
39 / 52
  5 Government
1974 N/A
36 / 52
  3 Government
1976
52 / 52
  18 Government
1978 766,673 90.3%
50 / 54
  2 Government
1982 273,383 18.6%   3rd
14 / 60
  36 Government
1985 80,730 8.3%
12 / 60
  2 Government
1988 78,756 8.5%
7 / 60
  5 Government
1991 94,531 9.0%   4th
9 / 84
  2 Opposition
1994 83,520 6.21%
4 / 84
  5 Opposition
1997 97,362 8.4%   3rd
11 / 84
  7 Opposition
2000 106,802 8.8%
13 / 84
  2 Opposition
2003 181,167 13.0%
16 / 84
  3 Opposition
2006 172,341 11.0%
10 / 84
  6 Opposition
2009 194,751 8.79%
11 / 84
  1 Opposition
2012 157,074 7.18%   4th
7 / 84
  4 Opposition
2015 154,093 6.77%
4 / 84
  3 Opposition
2018 230,862 10.87%   3rd
9 / 84
  5 Opposition
2021 102,848 4.12%   5th
2 / 84
  7 Government
2024 101,641 3.26   3rd
2 / 60
  0 Government

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Haggerty, Richard A., ed. (1990). El Salvador: A Country Study (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 21. OCLC 44362656.
  2. ^ https://diario.elmundo.sv/afiliados-pcn-eligen-dirigencia-nacional-y-local/ Afiliados PCN eligen dirigencia nacional y local
  3. ^ http://www.pcn.com.sv/principios-y-objetivos
  4. ^ Juhn, Tricia (2016). Negotiating Peace in El Salvador. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 108.
  5. ^ Smith, Alan (2016). "A Comparative Introduction to Political Science". Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 500.
  6. ^ Birdsall, Nancy (2006). Short of the Goal: U.S. Policy and Poorly Performing States. Center for Global Development. p. 255.
  7. ^ https://www.pcnoficial.com/fotos-recientes ESTATUTOS PARTIDO DE CONCERTACIÓN NACIONAL PCN
  8. ^ El Salvador Supreme Court disbands two parties, BBC News, 30 April 2011, retrieved 12 March 2012
  9. ^ "TSE anuncia inscripción del partido Concertación Nacional", El Salvador Noticias, 23 September 2011, retrieved 12 March 2012
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ Hernández, Silvia (30 January 2024). "Partido PCN Reitera Apoyo a la Candidatura Presidencial de Nayib Bukele" [PCN Party Reiterates Support for Nayib Bukele's Presidential Candidacy]. La Noticia SV (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
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