Protests spread after panel rules president won election
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — 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 repeat of the disputed vote.
The OAS, which had sent election observers to the country, issued a statement saying it was impossible to determine the outcome with enough certainty due to irregularities including “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 would clear the obstacles, protesters would put them back.
Universities, banks and some other businesses remained closed due to the disturbances in Tegucigalpa. Most businesses were closed in the country’s second city, San Pedro Sula. National Police spokesman Jairo Meza said some businesses there had been looted.
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.
At least 17 people have died in violent street clashes since the Nov. 26 vote.
Electoral tribunal president David Matamoros announced Sunday evening that Hernandez had won the election, saying, “We have fulfilled our obligation (and) we wish for there to be peace in our country.”
According to the court’s official count, Hernandez won with 42.95 percent to 41.42 for Nasralla, who long ago said it would not accept the result.
The first results reported by the electoral court before dawn the day after the election showed Nasralla with a significant lead over Hernandez with nearly 60 percent of the vote counted. But public updates of the count mysteriously stopped, and when they resumed, Nasralla’s lead steadily eroded and ultimately reversed in Hernandez’s favor.