News In Brief

Savador tally has Duarte far ahead of d'Aubuisson

First official returns Thursday from the presidential runoff elections show moderate Jose Napoleon Duarte with a strong lead over his ultrarightist rival, Roberto d'Aubuisson.

Mr. d'Aubuisson, candidate of the Republican Nationalist Alliance claimed at a news conference Wednesday that his party's tally shows he won Sunday's runoff election with 52 percent of the vote.

He withdrew his far-right party from participation in the official count of presidential votes, charging US-backed fraud, and said he would win if illegal ballots were thrown out.

But official returns released by the Central Election Council gave Duarte 59. 8 percent and d'Aubuisson 40.2 percent in returns from four of the nation's 14 provinces - including San Salvador, where about 30 percent of eligible voters live. It is a traditional Duarte stronghold.