Honduras president declared election winner; unrest persists
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Protests erupted across Honduras on Monday following an official declaration that President Juan Orlando Hernandez has won re-election, even as the Organization of American States proposed a re-do of the disputed vote.
The OAS, which sent election observers to the country for the Nov. 26 election, issued a statement saying it was impossible to determine the outcome with enough certainty due to irregularities.
Among the problems it listed were “deliberate human intrusions into the computer system, intentional elimination of digital traces,” opened ballot boxes and “extreme statistical improbability regarding levels of participation within the same department,” combined with the narrow vote differential.
“The only possible path for the winner to be the Honduran people is a new call for general elections . ... Respecting democratic values and citizens is the necessary road to safeguard society from death and violence,” the OAS said.
Vice President Ricardo Alvarez rejected the call for new elections and accused opposition leaders of acting like children.
“The only election will be the one in four years,” he said. “In this country there will be order, mark my words, because we won’t let 20 Hondurans paralyze the country.”
Supporters of challenger Salvador Nasralla blocked streets and highways around the country Monday with burning tires and rocks. As soon as police and soldiers cleared obstacles, protesters put them back.
Universities, banks and some other businesses closed due to the disturbances in Tegucigalpa. People who had to work made their commutes on foot.
Most businesses were closed in the country’s second-biggest city, San Pedro Sula. National Police spokesman Jairo Meza said some businesses there had been looted.
A bus was burned near La Lima about 185 miles (300 kilometers) north of Tegucigalpa.
Textile magnate Adolfo Facusse, not a supporter of the president, said people were frustrated by the electoral court decision.
“We must have new elections,” he said. “That is a good decision, but President Hernandez will have to give in to the public.”
“It’s better to be locked up in our houses,” said Maria Velasquez, a teacher living in Valle de Angeles, a town outside the capital.
Maria Gutierrez, a street vendor blocking the entrance to the Kennedy neighborhood in south Tegucigalpa with dozens of others, said she wants Hernandez gone.
“We’re not fighting for Nasralla or anyone,” she said. “We fight for our rights.”
At least 17 people have died in violent street clashes since the election.