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Honduras' Unresolved Election Sparks More Protest

by Celia Mendoza

   TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS --

   Angry supporters of Honduran opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla
   blockaded some capital city streets with burning tires Monday,
   protesting what they contend is election fraud.
   Nasralla called for a nationwide strike after a partial recount of
   votes cast two weeks ago in Honduras' presidential election ended
   Sunday with conservative incumbent Juan Orlando Hernandez holding a
   narrow lead. The winner has not yet been declared.
   "The truth is that we have two people with a lot of support. It's a
   very competitive, tight election," said David Matamoros, who, as
   president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, is overseeing the hand
   count of votes in almost 5,000 ballot boxes from the Nov. 26 election.
   They're being checked for irregularities.
   Matamoros said the results Sunday were "extremely consistent" with
   earlier findings, with 43 percent for Hernandez, of the National Party,
   and 41.4 percent for Nasralla of the opposition Alliance Party.
   Nasralla, a TV sportscaster who had an unexpected five-point lead for a
   time on election night, alleged misconduct in the review.
   "They are implying that they are reviewing the votes," Nasralla told
   VOA. "... What they are reviewing are papers that Juan Orlando
   Hernández [had] put into the ballot box, but not on the actual day of
   the vote."

   Recount demanded and recommended

   'Nasralla said he would not recognize the results, demanding a full
   recount.
   The next step is for the elections tribunal to weigh electoral
   challenges approximately 150, according to the Associated Press. The
   tribunal has 30 days from the election to announce the result, giving
   it a December 26 deadline.
   Matamoros told VOA that national and international observers' issues
   with verification "will be carried out so that there is no doubt
   whatsoever about who won."
   Observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) last week
   issued a series of recommendations, including a recount of disputed
   ballots.
   The United States' charge d'affaires for Honduras, Heidi Fulton, put
   out a [1]statement repeating "our call for all involved in the
   electoral process to support a transparent, impartial, timely and
   peaceful determination of the election result, consistent with Honduran
   law, in a manner that maximizes citizen participation and represents
   the will of the Honduran people."

   Fraud denial

   The National Party's deputy, David Chávez, disputed accusations of
   fraud.
   "We firmly believe that the process has been transparent.These
   organizations have been guarantors," Chávez said. He added that "the
   loser does not like to lose. And they do not have that democratic
   spirit. ...They have to be men when accepting defeat, and unfortunately
   this is not going to happen."
   Thousands of protesters took to the streets Sunday in numerous cities
   to show support for Nasralla.Among them was Elsa Marina Lopez de Rivas,
   a 61-year-old homemaker marching in Tegucigalpa, the capital city.
   "All of us who walk here are fighting for our votes, because we voted
   for President Salvador Nasaralla, we did not vote for Mr. Juan
   Orlando," Lopez said. "We no longer want [Hernandez] because he has
   done a lot of damage. We don't have security, we don't have employment,
   so we have to defend our votes here. "
   Roughly two-thirds of the country's nine million people live in
   poverty, according to the [2]World Bank.

   The [3]Central American country is rife with violence and has one of
   the world's highest murder rates, Human Rights Watch observes.

   At least 14 people have died in protests following the election.

References

   1. http://://twitter.com/USAmbHonduras
   2. http://://www.worldbank.org/en/country/honduras/overview
   3. http://://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/honduras