EL SALVADOR: ELECTION RESULTS скачать в хорошем качестве

EL SALVADOR: ELECTION RESULTS

(17 Mar 1997) Spanish/Nat El Salvadoran leftists have won at the ballot box what they could not in 12 years of civil war: control of the capital and dozens of seats in Congress. Salvadorans voted Sunday for 84 congressional seats and 262 mayoral posts in 372 precincts. Hector Silva, a Boston-born gynecologist was celebrating victory in the mayor's race in San Salvador, the capital of 1.4 (m) million people. The incoming mayor from the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (F-M-L-N) called for cooperation with opponents. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "We have just got a phone call from the President of the Republic, Mr Armando Calderon Sol to congratulate us for the triumph in San Salvador and to tell us that the central government is willing to collaborate with the new leaders of San Salvador municipality and the other 54 municipalities where the opposition has won so far." SUPER CAPTION: Hector Silva, San Salvador incoming mayor Silva has said he favours a free-market economy tempered by social policies. He also has said he wants to work with local businessmen. The Front itself favours higher taxes on business and imports and wants to halt privatization of state companies. About two thousand cheering supporters gathered at the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (F-M-L-N) headquarters early Monday to dance to Latin music in celebration of major gains. With 66 percent of the ballots counted, Silva had 46.8 percent of the votes to 40.7 percent for his opponent in the government party, the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance known as ARENA. ARENA conceded defeat in San Salvador, but insisted it would still outstrip the Front in the National Assembly. Incomplete official returns Monday indicated the Front was virtually even with ARENA in Sunday's congressional and city elections. With 58.7 percent of votes counted, the government party had 35.4 percent of the vote in congressional races to 34.3 percent for the Front. Eleven other parties divided the rest. But at a press conference, the F-M-L-N campaign chairman declared victory for his party. SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) "The F-M-L-N is now the largest political force in El Salvador. We will be the ones with more MPs in the congress and we will govern in coalition with other leftist parties in the most important cities of the country, and in many other municipalities in every department." SUPER CAPTION: Facundo Guardado, F-M-L-N Campaign Chairman Complete preliminary results were not due until Monday night. Thirteen parties participated in the campaign for congress and 262 mayoral races. But independent Channel 12 television calculated from press and party vote reports that ARENA would end up with about 32 seats in the 84-member National Assembly to 29 for the Front. ARENA now has 41 seats won in 1994 and the Front has 14. Either would have to rely on a coalition with at least two other parties to form a majority. Most of the other parties are of the centre or centre-right. The Front became a political party after signing a peace treaty in December 1992 that ended a war in which 76-thousand people died. Voting officials noted that despite the history of hostility, there were no reports of violence in Sunday's voting. Turnout was unexpectedly low - less than 40 percent at many of the country's 372 polling centers. 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...