Duarte’s Party Losing Heavily in Salvador Vote

The U.S.-backed government of President Jose Napoleon Duarte has suffered a devastating election defeat, losing control of the National Assembly to the rightist opposition, unofficial returns showed Monday.

The major rightist party, the Nationalist Republican Alliance, also known as Arena, increased its membership in the 60-seat National Assembly from 13 to at least 30 seats in the Sunday elections.

Such a tally would allow Arena to take control of the legislature from Duarte’s Christian Democrats because two small rightist parties that support Arena are assured of at least one seat each.

Mario Samayoa, president of El Salvador’s state-run electoral commission, said more than 50% of the votes in the municipal and legislative contests went to Arena, founded by longtime Duarte rival Roberto D’Aubuisson.

More Than 70% Voted

Samayoa also said more than 70% of the 1.6 million registered voters cast ballots, despite the fact that leftist guerrillas threatened violence against voters and called for an election boycott.

“We knew they (the guerrillas) would not be able to daunt the people, to intimidate them,” he said.

Arena officials claimed their party won at least 200 of the 244 mayoral elections; balloting did not take place in 18 other municipalities under rebel control.

The rout included the election of Arena candidate Armando Calderon Sol, a 39-year-old lawyer, as mayor of San Salvador in a race against Alejandro Duarte, son of the president.

The defeat in the capital, home to 1.5 million of the country’s 5 million people, was especially bitter because the Christian Democrats had held the mayor’s post since 1964.

In the National Assembly, local media projections gave Arena between 33 and 35 seats. The Christian Democrats entered the race with 33 seats.

The upset by Arena drastically alters prospects for Duarte, one of the staunchest U.S. allies in Central America, in his final year as president.

It raises major questions about how El Salvador will proceed in its fight against an 8-year-old guerrilla insurgency and how it will deal with staggering problems of underdevelopment aggravated by the conflict.

Arena, formed in 1981, is fiercely nationalistic. Its founder D’Aubuisson, a retired army major, is widely considered to have had a role in directing rightist death squads that killed hundreds of civilians in the early 1980s. He has denied the charge, saying instead that citizens were obliged to defend themselves against leftist “terrorists.”

D’Aubuisson was reelected to his legislative seat Sunday.

Image of Moderation

The president of Arena, Alfredo Cristiani, a coffee grower and businessman who was educated at Georgetown University, has been trying to project an image of moderation for the last two years. Cristiani also retained his seat in the legislature.

“El Salvador needs support and would probably be in difficult problems if the U.S. would not provide support,” he said in an interview.

Washington sent El Salvador almost $600 million in military and economic aid last year.

In Washington, the State Department hailed the elections and called them a strong victory for the democratic process.

State Department spokesman Charles Redman was asked whether the United States had reservations about the rightist victory.

‘Don’t Choose Sides’

“Our basic policy is that we don’t choose sides in these kinds of elections,” Redman said.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), who led a team named by President Reagan to monitor the elections, called them honest and important “because power transferred peacefully” and “the rebels didn’t win.”

Arena benefited from a huge groundswell of popular discontent with the Christian Democrats.

Duarte defeated D’Aubuisson for the presidency in 1984 on a platform that promised to end the war and improve the average Salvadoran’s lot. But the war continues, unemployment is estimated at 40% and inflation is about 40% annually.