El Salvador

Left-wing victory ends two decades of conservative power in El Salvador

Article published on the 2009-03-16 Latest update 2009-03-16 12:38 TU

Mauricio Funes (c) claims victory at a news conference, with his wife, Vanda Pignato (l) and running mate Sanchez Ceren (r)
(Photo: Reuters)

Mauricio Funes has claimed victory in Sunday’s presidential poll in El Salvador, bringing left-wing rule to the small Central American country for the first time since the end of the 12-year civil war in 1992. His opponent, the right-wing incumbent Rodrigo Avila, conceded defeat shortly after.

"I am the president-elect of the Salvadorans,” said Funes, a former journalist, at a news conference in the capital, San Salvador.

"I want to be the real president of the real reconstruction of the country, which starts with the reconstruction of people," he said.

His Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) party was formerly a coalition of Marxist guerrillas which had fought against the government. With 90 percent of the ballots counted, the party came in ahead of Avila’s Arena party, with 51.2 per cent of the vote.

Funes will take over as President on 1st June.

The FMLN did not win an absolute majority, so it will have to form a coalition with minority parties in the parliament.