OAS urges Honduras to hold fresh presidential elections

TEGUCIGALPA: The Organisation of American States (OAS) on Sunday said Honduras should hold new presidential elections, after the electoral tribunal declared conservative President Juan Orlando Hernandez the official winner of the bitterly contested Nov 26 presidential vote.

The tribunal said Hernandez beat centre-left challenger and TV star Salvador Nasralla by 1.53 percentage points, according to the official count, sparking fraud accusations and calls for renewed street protests.

In a nationally televised address, tribunal head David Matamoros said all the challenges presented to it had been resolved and votes were recounted at select polling stations, declaring Hernandez “the presidentelect for the Republic of Honduras”.

OAS secretary-general Luis Almagro questioned the decision.

“The people of Honduras deserve an electoral process that confers them democratic quality and guarantees.

“The electoral process that the tribunal concluded today clearly did not provide that.”

He said the election was marred by irregularities and deficiencies and called for a new election.

In a video posted on Facebook, Nasralla said it was clear there had been fraud “before, during and after” the election, calling the tribunal’s decision a “desperate move”.

He said he was headed to Washington to meet Almagro, as well as US State Department officials.

The outcome of those meetings would help determine what steps to take next, he said. Reuters