The former mayor of El Salvador, Najib Abuquila, won the first round of presidential elections in El Salvador by winning 53% of the votes in this smaller but more populous country in Latin America.
"At this moment, we can state with absolute certainty that we won the presidency of the Republic of El Salvador," Abuela, 37, known as Spanish Nayeb Pocelli, told his supporters gathered in front of a hotel in the capital.
The wealthy businessman, Carlos Cayeja of the National Republican Alliance, and the left-wing party's candidate, former foreign minister Hugo Martinez, approved the victory of Abu Bakila, who ran under the banner of the conservative party, the Grand Alliance for Unity.
The president of the Supreme Electoral Court, Julio Oligo, said the results, although still partial, confirm Abu Bakila's victory as "irreversible."
Based on the results of 87% of the polling stations, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said that Abu Bakila received 53.78% of the vote.
Abu Bakila, who will be the sixth president since the end of the 12-year civil war in 1992, pledged during his campaign to increase investment in education and fight corruption, but his main task would be to implement new programs to enhance security.
Abukaila will serve a five-year non-renewable term at a time when the right-wing National Republican Alliance party controls the majority of parliament until the next legislative elections in 2021 at least.
More than 5.2 million people were invited to cast their ballots in a peaceful election in a typical festive atmosphere in such circumstances in El Salvador.
Najib Abu Kila Qattan is a Palestinian businessman whose roots are in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, born in San Salvador, from a Palestinian father who died two years ago and a Salvadoran mother from her late husband 4 children .
Najib Abu Kila married four years ago from Salvadoran Gabriela Rodriguez. From 2015 until last year, he was mayor of the capital, where he was born 37 years ago and is known for his ongoing campaign against corruption and bribery.