Salvador Sánchez Cerén, presidential candidate for the FMLN in El Salvador, is clinging to a razor-thin victory in yesterday’s runoff election — just 6,634 votes ahead of his rival.
That translates to a 50.11-to-49.89 percent disparity, and Norman Quijano on the opposition ARENA ticket claims he has won. Amid allegations of fraud, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal has yet to make the final declaration of victory for Sánchez Cerén.
The outcome has generated international interest given the fervent Marxism of Sánchez Cerén, who was a guerrilla leader with the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front during the 1980-1992 civil war in El Salvador. That legacy had Quijano, sitting mayor of San Salvador, accusing his opponent of pushing for Chavismo and a takeover of the private sector.
Source: Reuters.