Leftist party of Honduras’ president-elect falls short of congressional majority

TEGUCIGALPA, (Reuters) - The leftist party of Honduras’ president-elect Xiomara Castro is in negotiations with the opposition, party leaders told Reuters, after it failed to win a congressional majority needed to pass Castro’s sweeping agenda.

Castro’s Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre) and its allies won 60 out of 128 seats in the single-house Congress, with more than 90% of the ballot boxes counted as of Saturday, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE).

“We are in negotiations,” Libre leader Gerardo Torres told Reuters. “It is likely we’ll form an alliance with the Liberal Party,” he said, referring to one of the two main opposition parties.

Under Honduran law, lawmakers need to secure a majority plus one to appoint the directors of the chamber or have the power to reform or repeal laws.

“The new president and the alliance that supports her will have to constantly negotiate with opposition parties,” said analyst and former CNE member Denis Gómez.

Castro, who will take office on Jan. 27, campaigned on a promise of implementing broad legislative changes. These include repealing the penal code, which lowered the penalties for illicit enrichment and money laundering, and getting rid of the so-called secrets law, which curtailed access to public information.

Both laws were passed under the administration of the current president, Juan Orlando Hernández, who has been plagued by allegations of corruption and ties to drug trafficking.