On March 25, 1984, in the 1984 presidential elections, Duarte (running as the PDC candidate), running along with Rodolfo Claramount Castillo, came in first with 43.4% of the vote. In the second round, on May 6, he won with 53.6% of the vote against the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) candidate, Roberto D'Aubuisson. The elections were marred by violence between the FMLN and Salvadoran military at and near the polling stations. As both candidates were known to have close links with wartime undemocratic factions, the US government spent approximately US$2 million to support the democratic process and prevent violence at the voting polls. However, some scholars of Central American History have suggested that the CIA was merely ascertaining that Duarte, the candidate favored by the USA, was elected.