Last week, political analysts pointed out several interesting observations to keep in mind when following the news on the municipal and congressional elections, scheduled for May 1998. In the 1996 presidential election, the PLD was forced to unite with the PRSC in order to win the 50%+1 vote necessary, edging the PRD, which mustered 49% of the vote in the first round. For the 1998 congressional and municipal election, the candidates will win by sheer majority of votes; a second round will not be necessary. Furthermore, congressional and municipal hopefuls win only with the votes cast in their home cities, therefore their popularity in other areas of the country is not important.
