El Salvador's leftist party loses capital

01-20-2009 | AP

The conservative Arena party is gaining votes in San Salvador

Panama Star SAN SALVADOR. El Salvador's chief leftist party lost its stronghold in the capital even while it headed for a plurality in the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, had 47 percent of the votes in the San Salvador mayor's race, compared to 50 percent for the conservative Arena party, with 68 percent of the votes counted. Mayor Violeta Menjivar, running for re-election in San Salvador, conceded defeat to physician Norman Quijano, but accused his party of sending extra voters into the capital.

"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.