El Salvador presidential elections 2014: Salvador Sanchez Ceren’s victory confirmed

Left-wing rebel Salvador Sanchez Ceren’s victory in a tight presidential run-off election has been confirmed by El Salvador’s electoral court.

The electoral court said Salvador Sanchez Ceren won 50.11% of the votes in the March 9 poll, defeating conservative candidate Norman Quijano, who polled 49.89%.

Norman Quijano had challenged the result, alleging fraud.

The court’s decision makes Salvador Sanchez Ceren the country’s first ex-rebel to serve as president.

On Sunday, the court said that there was not enough evidence to back Norman Quijano’s claim.

“Based on the results, Salvador Sanchez Ceren and Oscar Samuel Ortiz are declared president and vice-president elect respectively, for the period from 1 June 2014 to 1 June 2019,” court president Eugenio Chicas was quoted as saying by Reuters.

El Salvador’s outgoing President Mauricio Funes said he would meet Salvador Sanchez Ceren later on Monday to begin the handover process.

Salvador Sanchez Ceren became vice-president of El Salvador in 2009, while Norman Quijano was the mayor of the capital, San Salvador.

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