Slow vote count riles Hondurans
Challenger in the presidential race alleges fraud
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Protests were growing in Honduras Thursday as incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez emerged with a growing lead for re-election following a reported computer glitch that shut down vote counting for several hours.
Challenger Salvador Nasralla has alleged fraud and said he won’t respect the official results. He’s watched an initial fivepoint lead diminish in recent days as official results have trickled out.
On Thursday, Hernandez was ahead by more than 35,000 votes, with nearly 91 percent of Sunday’s votes processed. He had 42.7 percent of the vote to Nasralla’s 41.5 percent.
Opposition supporters protested through the night outside the electoral court’s facilities, setting up some highway roadblocks and lighting fires in the streets. Street protests continued Thursday with rock throwers facing off against police armed with tear gas and water cannons.
David Matamoros, president of the electoral court, said Thursday that officials had not finished counting in part because overnight they had to evacuate after tear gas drifted into the building.
He said that about 2,000 electoral reports from polling sites contained “inconsistencies,” including lacking signatures from members of the polling sites or not having seals. Those will most likely require a special count, he said.
Representatives of the Organization of American States called for transparency in the count.
Protesters gathered on the capital’s outskirts Thursday, preparing to march in protest. Riot police equipped with batons and tear gas closed two central boulevards.