Violent protests in Honduras after president declared election winner
TEGUCIGALPA: Police in Honduras fired teargas Monday at demonstrators who set up flaming roadblocks and looted stores after the incumbent president was declared the winner of a heavilydisputed election.
The leftist opposition has claimed fraud in the election three weeks ago that finally led to the pronouncement Sunday of conservative President Juan Orlando Hernandez as the winner after an oft-interrupted vote count.
International observers also cited irregularities, and the defeated opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla arrived in Washington Monday to present what he said was evidence of electoral fraud to the Organisation of American States (OAS).
“We are presenting multiple pieces of evidence, as the theft had various facets,” said Nasralla, a 64year-old former TV presenter.
Nasralla said that among those items were what he described as recordings of Hernandez ordering the head of the electoral commission, David Matamoros, not to release the election results until they had been doctored in his favour.
The opposition candidate was due to go on to meetings with the US State Department.
“The United States does not know the reality of the fraud and we are bringing a document (on a) USB showing how they suppressed the votes,” he said.
Protests broke out Sunday night in Honduras and continued into Monday morning as police cleared the streets of barricades.
In the northern city of San Pedro Sula, police said protesters looted stores and burned a bank branch and a bus.
In the capital city Tegucigalpa, people woke up Monday to smoldering barricades of tires, sticks and rocks. Authorities sometimes needed heavy machinery to remove them. Under a light rain, some small groups of demonstrators continued to man roadblocks. — AFP