San Salvador, March 24 (RHC) – Salvadoran parliamentarians urged the opposition Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) to recognize the results of the presidential elections and join the new government's efforts to eradicate violence and poverty in that Central American country.

Speaking to a local television channel, the deputy of the National Coalition Party, Francisco Merino, described as undemocratic the behavior of the far-right coalition that appealed to the military for intervention after losing the elections to the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN).

The vote marked a hard-fought victory for the FMLN’s ambitious economic agenda, which has included of a roster of new social programs that have improved education and healthcare for millions of Salvadorans. But right-wing forces vigorously disputed the election—one that the Organization of American States called the most transparent in El Salvador’s history.

Furthermore, Guillermo Gallegos of the parliamentary group Great Alliance for National Unity said ARENA’s willingness to call upon the military to intervene is of concern.

The two parliamentarians agreed on the transparency and mass participation in elections, where for the first time Salvadorans outside the country, who comprise over a third of the total population, were able to vote.