Chamber:
	Asamblea legislativa
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	16 March 1997
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in Parliament on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	In the 1997 general elections, the main opponents for the 84 Legislative Assembly seats were, once again, the ruling National Republican Alliance (ARENA) and the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN); 11 other parties were also in contention. The congressional poll was combined with voting at the municipal level. During the campaign, the leftist FMLN - a former guerrilla movement which achieved legal recognition as a political party in 1992 - adopted a more moderate tone than in previous years in pointing to the country's economic problems while the right-wing ARENA of President of the Republic Armando Calderon Sol stressed the violent past of the formerly rebel FMLN in the 12-year civil war that ended in 1992. Polling day saw a low turnout of about 40%. This above all appeared to help the cause of the FMLN in both the congressional and municipal races as it made strong gains and but for one seat almost became the majority party in the Assembly while capturing a number of major mayoral contests, including that of the capital San Salvador where Mr. Hector Silva was elected. Altogether nine parties gained parliamentary representation.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (16 March 1997): Elections results
Number of registered electors	3,004,174
Voters	2,679,055 (89.17%)

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Votes	%
National Republican Alliance (ARENA)	396,301	35.40
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN)	369,709	33.02
National Conciliation Party (PCN)	97,362	8.70
Christian Democratic Party (PDC)	93,545	8.36
Social Christian Renewal Party (PRSC)	40,039	3.58
PDC- Democratic Party (PD) coalition	39,838	3.55
Democratic Convergence (CD)	39,145	3.50
Liberal Democratic Party (PLD)	35,279	3.15
Unity Movement (MU)	25,244	2.25

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
National Republican Alliance (ARENA)	28	-11
Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN)	27	+6
National Conciliation Party (PCN)	11	+7
Christian Democratic Party (PDC)	7	-11
Social Christian Renewal Party (PRSC)	3	+3
PDC- Democratic Party (PD) coalition	3	+3
Democratic Convergence (CD)	2	+1
Liberal Democratic Party (PLD)	2	+2
Unity Movement (MU)	1	=

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	71
Women:	13