Protests rise as Honduras counts votes
Incumbent pulls ahead; challenger alleges fraud
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Protests were growing Thursday in Honduras 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 has watched an initial five-point 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 as calls to maintain calm were increasingly unheeded.
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.
Protesters from the country’s interior gathered on the capital’s outskirts Thursday, preparing to march in protest. Riot police equipped with batons and tear gas closed two central boulevards. Vehicles with water cannons for crowd control were visible.
Many schools and universities in the capital announced they would be closed through the weekend to keep students out of harm’s way.
The Association of Banking Institutions recommended branches close Thursday afternoon in anticipation of street clashes.
Nasralla via Twitter asked his supporters to continue to protest peacefully and not be provoked into violence. Luis Zelaya, candidate for the Liberal Party, who was running a distant third in the tally, called for his supporters to “defend democracy.”