Rights wins Salvadoran election
On March 10, the Salvadoran Supreme Electoral Tribunal officially certified Francisco Flores, of the right-wing Republican Nationalist Alliance (ARENA), as the winner of the March 7 presidential elections.
Flores won 51.96% of the valid votes cast. Facundo Guardado, candidate of the leftist Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation (FMLN), came second with 29.05%. Third place went to Ruben Zamora, of the centre-left United Democratic Centre, with 7.5%.
ARENA has held the presidency since 1989. Flores' five-year term begins on June 1. According to tribunal president Jorge Diaz, the total of number of valid votes was 1,182,248 out of more than 3 million registered voters. The turnout was one of the lowest in El Salvador's history.