2014-02-02 18:49:46

El Salvadorians go to the polls


El Salvadorians on Sunday go to the polls to choose a new President.

As correspondent James Blears reports, the economy and a failing truce between street gangs are key issues.

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More than 20,000 Police are overseeing the voting process, while more than 4,000 national and international observers including delegations from the Organization of American States- the OAS, and the European Union are in El Salvador to insure that fair play is done.
The main Candidates are: Salvador Sanchez who's the Vice President of the ruling left wing Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, and Norman Quijano, the former Mayor of the Capitol San Salvador, and the Candidate of the right of center National Republican Alliance known as Arena. Another key Candidate is former President Antonio Saca of the National Conciliation Party.
If there is not outright winner with 50 percent or more of the vote in this first round, there will be a second round runoff on March 9th, between the two who've gained the most votes.
A so called truce between the country's ultra violent main street gangs appears to be crumbling and the rate of killings is again increasing in El Salvador, which already has a high murder rate. Poverty, the economy and education are also issues of concern.









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