EL SALVADOR: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE NOMINATIONS VOTE скачать в хорошем качестве

EL SALVADOR: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE NOMINATIONS VOTE

(16 Aug 1998) Spanish/Nat Former leftist Salvadoran guerrillas voted for their presidential candidate for the 1999 elections this weekend. However, none of the F-M-L-N (Faribundo Marti Liberation Front) contenders won enough votes to get nominated. Voting will now have to go to a second round in two weeks' time. The winner will compete for the presidency with the candidate of the ruling party Arena. The vote was cast at this year's F-M-L-M National Convention in the capital, San Salvador. Arena already lost control of El Salvador's legislature in Congressional elections in 1997, as well as the San Salvador mayorship. The vote therefore took on extra significance and F-M-L-N party members were in high spirits. The two main F-M-L-N contenders appeal to two very different sectors of society, although both stressed there was no rivalry within the party that could threaten its unity. Favourite for the candidacy was San Salvador mayor Hector Silva. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "Taking into account that this is the first time in our history that we have had an internal campaign for a candidate within our own party and I think this is true of many Latin American countries. Three candidates have competed openly throughout this campaign and the result will be a positive one. We have come to the end of our campaign, we have just finished the last event of our sixth convention before we vote. There has been at all times a feeling of solidarity among the three of us and I think that the winner of this vote will ultimately be the party itself." SUPER CAPTION: Hector Silva, Mayor of San Salvador Hot on his heels was Victoria de Aviles, a human rights activist who was confident that feminists and the bases would give her the vote. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "I do not think that anyone should believe that a political party should live stuck its old traditions of life, politics and society. The F-M-L-N is a very analytical party, it is very self-critical and I think the results of the vote will show this. " SUPER CAPTION: Victoria de Aviles, Human Rights Worker The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (F-M-L-N) turned itself into a political party after the 1992 peace accord ended 12-years of civil war in El Salvador. It is now the country's leading opposition force to the ruling right-wing Arena party. The winning candidate in this weekend's vote turned out to be Aviles. She beat Silva, but only by 441 votes to 431. The difference of 10 votes was not enough to clinch the candidacy for the presidency. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "518 votes were needed for the candidates for the vice presidency and the presidency to go through. Despite this, in accordance with the statutes laid down by the party, we have unanimously agreed to accept the rules and acknowledge that what we must do is continue with the democratic process of the party and go for a second round." SUPER CAPTION: Salvador Arias, F-M-L-N spokeperson and candidate for the vice-presidency The winner of the next round of voting goes through to compete for the presidency. Although at peace, El Salvador is in the grip of a spiral of poverty and violence. And whoever succeeds today's government faces an uphill struggle to rid the country of its present difficulties. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...