El Salvador army rules out coup in election result dispute
El Salvador army rules out coup in election result dispute
By Nelson Renteria and Michael O'Boyle
SAN SALVADOR, March 12 Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:40pm EDT
(Reuters) - El Salvador's top military commander said on Wednesday the armed forces would not intervene in the disputed presidential election between a former leftist guerrilla leader and his right-wing rival, who has asked for the result to be annulled.
Norman Quijano of the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) came second in Sunday's vote, narrowly trailing the ruling leftist party candidate Salvador Sanchez Ceren, who was known as Commander Leonel Gonzalez during the country's 12-year civil war.
Quijano has asked the country's election tribunal, which has called the outcome "irreversible," to annul the result, claiming widespread fraud and threatening to take his complaint to the Supreme Court if necessary.
"They know very well we've defeated them," Quijano told his supporters on Sunday. "Our armed forces are keeping an eye on this fraud. They can't play with the desires of the people, nor can they upend the foundations of our democracy. They can't steal the legitimate triumph from my nation."
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