No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeEl SalvadorConservative in Salvadoran vote demands fresh polls as political divisions intensify

Conservative in Salvadoran vote demands fresh polls as political divisions intensify

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador – The conservative candidate in El Salvador’s tight presidential runoff, in which no winner has been declared, on Tuesday demanded a new vote be held.

Preliminary results show Salvador Sánchez Cerén, a former rebel commander, edging out conservative Norman Quijano by a miniscule 6,634 votes, 50.11 percent to 49.89.

A final manual tally was under way with the electoral council expected to announce a winner on Friday.

The preliminary result was a surprise, as the leftist Sánchez Cerén had been favored to win by as many as 10 percentage points.

Quijano, the San Salvador mayor, said he wanted a new election because the electoral council refused to do a vote-by-vote recount across the whole country.

The electoral council maintains that Salvadoran law has no provision for such a full recount.

“We are getting out front and submitting a request for the March 9 runoff vote to be declared null and void,” Quijano said.

After his announcement, members of his ARENA coalition walked out of the manual vote tally they were monitoring.

Legislative speaker Sigfrido Reyes, a leftist with the FMLN, said: “The final tally is one element of our legal process here. Nobody, not on some person or party’s whim, can just call it off.”

The FMLN and ARENA were the main protagonists of a bloody 1979-1992 civil war, and the election results showed how divided the country remains more than two decades later.

Salvadoran online media El Faro on Tuesday reported growing protests by ARENA supporters, and intermittent scuffles between backers of ARENA and supporters of the FLMN. No injuries were reported.

Trending Now

Why Costa Rica’s Northern Huetar Region Struggles Despite Its Riches

Costa Rica’s Northern Huetar Region, a sprawling area of 9,790 square kilometers, is home to over 437,000 people across districts like San Carlos, Upala,...

Rights Groups Condemn El Salvador Over Arrest of Anti-Corruption Lawyer

The justice system of El Salvador has admitted a habeas corpus petition in favor of lawyer and humanitarian activist Ruth López, a critic of...

Mexican Influencer “El Arturito” Falls for Costa Rican Cuisine at Silvestre

Arturo Lemmen, a Mexican food critic known as “El Arturito” to his social media fans, used to think Costa Rican cuisine was nothing to...

Costa Rica and Panama Seek Gold Cup Glory Against North American Giants

With no Caribbean teams advancing, a Central American contingent made up of Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala heads into the quarterfinals of the...

Costa Rica Surf Film Festival Honors ‘Pura Vida Bodysurfing’ with Top Audience Award

Pura Vida Bodysurfing is an award-winning short film that strips surfing back to its essence—riding waves without a surfboard. Filmed across Costa Rica’s legendary...

U.S. – Guatemala Security Pact Targets Crime and Helps Returning Migrants

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem signed a border security cooperation agreement with Guatemala on Thursday, which includes the use of drones and...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica