Honduras opposition leads poll
Both presidential candidates declare themselves the victor
Initial election results released early Monday in Honduras showed opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla leading President Juan Orlando Hernandez, after a tense evening that saw both men declare themselves the winner before official numbers were announced.
With 57 percent of the ballots counted, the leftist Nasralla had claimed 45.17 percent of votes compared to Hernandez’s 40.21 percent, according to the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
The opposition has denounced the Constitutional Court’s decision to allow Hernandez to run again for president despite a one-term limit, a move that has sparked fears of a crisis in the crime-racked country. Minutes before the initial figures were released, Hernandez, 49, reassured his supporters in the capital Tegucigalpa that he was ahead, after having already declared himself the winner.
Backers of the 64-year-old Nasralla – who represents the Alliance Against the Dictatorship coalition – meanwhile chanted victory slogans and carried red flags.
“We defeated the dictatorship and defeated the fraud, I knew we could win,” said Julio Lainez, a 22-year-old student.
But upon hearing the preliminary official results, Hernandez said they were “not conclusive,” claiming they included only urban areas.
“We have to be careful, patient, and take the process until the end,” he said.
An estimated 6 million people were eligible to cast ballots, electing not just a president but also members of Congress, mayors and members of the Central American Parliament.
Though both candidates proclaiming themselves president had stoked fears of unrest, election observers said the voting process had been smooth.
“What we have seen so far has been positive,” said Marisa Matias, a European parliament observer from Portugal, one of 16,000 monitors.
Hernandez’s National Party – which controls the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government – contends that a 2015 Supreme Court ruling allows his re-election. The opposition has denounced his bid, saying the court does not have the power to overrule the 1982 constitution.