Leftists hold lead in El Salvador vote

SAN SALVADOR â€”  El Salvador’s chief leftist party had a strong lead Monday in legislative elections, with 50% of the vote compared with the conservative Arena party’s 40%.

But the leftists, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, lost their stronghold in the capital, getting 47% to Arena’s 50%, with almost 70% of the votes counted.

Mayor Violeta Menjivar, running for reelection, conceded defeat to physician Norman Quijano, but accused his party of sending extra voters into the capital. The FMLN had held the capital for 12 years.

“It is legal, but illegitimate, the intense and massive mobilization of voters that weren’t from the capital to the capital city,� she said.

The Organization of American States observer mission said no major problems were reported during Sunday’s vote.

If the numbers in legislative races hold, the FMLN would gain five parliamentary seats to hold 37, while the right-wing Arena would drop from 34 to 32 seats. Smaller parties hold the remaining spots in the 84-seat Legislative Assembly.

The FMLN is also expected to gain in other local elections. And its candidate, television journalist Mauricio Funes, is favored to win presidential elections March 15. That would give the FMLN the presidency for the first time since peace accords ended the country’s civil war in 1992.

Soaring prices have taken a toll on President Tony Saca’s approval ratings, and soured voters on Arena.