Salvadorans Of The DMV: How To Register And Vote

Víctor Caycho

The decisive presidential elections in El Salvador are fast approaching and are less than seven months away from its completion on January 3, 2019. That day will be known the successor of the current president Salvador Sánchez Cerén, among several candidates registered.

That is why the interest grows more and more among the members of the large Salvadoran community living in the metropolitan area, since for the second time they will have the opportunity to vote from abroad, as well as their compatriots in other parts of the world. The magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced this week the beginning of the process aimed at compatriots residing outside the country.

In the first place, the highest electoral body of the Central American country formalized on Monday 4 the registration process of Salvadorans residing abroad so that they can participate in these presidential elections. The process will be via Internet, which began on June 1 and will end on September 6, 2018. From that date, the institution enabled the website pere.tse.gob.sv so that Salvadoran residents abroad can develop the online process, as long as they meet the following requirements:

1.- Have a valid Identity Document, with residence address abroad. 2.- Be registered in the electoral register (requirement is met when obtaining the DUI with an address abroad). 3.- Request registration in the electoral register of residents abroad. 4. Not having renounced Salvadoran nationality. 5.- Enjoy civil and political rights. If you meet these requirements you can begin the process to register by following these steps, according to the TSE:

• Enter the website pere.tse.gob.sv • In the “new procedures” section, enter your DUI number and date of issue .

• Complete the voter registration form online and place the exact address where you want to receive the electoral package.

• A document will be created with all the data entered into the form, which must be downloaded from the application.

• Print and sign the registration form that you downloaded or put your thumbprint in the case of not being able to sign.

• Scan or take a photo of the signed form, add a scanned image of both sides of the DUI.

• Upload the form and the copy of the DUI to the website pere.tse.gob.sv following the instructions of the application. Although Salvadoran residents also have the option of carrying out the process through the consulates, the magistrates clarified that the same system available on the Internet is the one that will be enabled in these offices.

El Salvador will hold presidential elections on February 3, 2019, confirmed the TSE.