El Salvador opposition party leads tight election race -poll

Norman Quijano (L), presidential candidate from the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance party (ARENA), shakes hands with a man at a local market in La Libertad January 8, 2014. REUTERS/Ulises Rodriguez

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - The presidential candidate from El Salvador's right-wing opposition Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party is extending his narrow lead in the race to win February's election, according to a poll released on Monday.

ARENA candidate Norman Quijano has 35.5 percent of voters' support, while former guerilla commander Salvador Sanchez, candidate for the ruling Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation, is close behind with 31.8 percent, according to the survey by polling firm Mitofsky.