Now it's OFFICIAL!
Leftist Mauricio Funes celebrated victory Monday after triumphing in El Salvador's presidential elections and completing a historic journey to power for his party of former Marxist rebels.
The former TV journalist declared himself president-elect of the tiny Central American nation as a majority of exit polls handed him victory late Sunday.
His only rival, ruling right-wing candidate Rodrigo Avila, shortly afterwards conceded defeat.
The win represents a seismic power shift in the poverty- and crime-stricken country, as former Marxist rebels grabbed power 17 years after a devastating civil war.
Funes led Sunday's polls, which passed off peacefully, with 51.2 percent of the vote after more than 90 percent of ballots were counted, electoral authorities said.
The head of the ex-guerilla Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) pulled ahead of Avila, from the ARENA party, who garnered 48.7 percent of votes as counting neared a close.
"I'm the president-elect of the Salvadorans," Funes told reporters at a hotel in the capital.
"Yes, we could!" his red-clad supporters shouted in streets across the country, euphoric after ending the series of three failed bids at the presidency since the end of the 12-year civil war in 1992.
"I want to be the real president of the real reconstruction of the country, which starts with the reconstruction of people," Funes said.
Full story here.
The former TV journalist declared himself president-elect of the tiny Central American nation as a majority of exit polls handed him victory late Sunday.
His only rival, ruling right-wing candidate Rodrigo Avila, shortly afterwards conceded defeat.
The win represents a seismic power shift in the poverty- and crime-stricken country, as former Marxist rebels grabbed power 17 years after a devastating civil war.
Funes led Sunday's polls, which passed off peacefully, with 51.2 percent of the vote after more than 90 percent of ballots were counted, electoral authorities said.
The head of the ex-guerilla Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) pulled ahead of Avila, from the ARENA party, who garnered 48.7 percent of votes as counting neared a close.
"I'm the president-elect of the Salvadorans," Funes told reporters at a hotel in the capital.
"Yes, we could!" his red-clad supporters shouted in streets across the country, euphoric after ending the series of three failed bids at the presidency since the end of the 12-year civil war in 1992.
"I want to be the real president of the real reconstruction of the country, which starts with the reconstruction of people," Funes said.
Full story here.