Challenger holds surprise lead in Honduras presidential vote
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The main challenger to Honduras’ president held an unexpected lead Monday in early election returns, but the release of updated results essentially ground to a halt and both sides claimed victory while rallying supporters to the streets.
The country’s electoral court reported in the evening that opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla had about 45.2 per cent of the vote to 40.2 for conservative President Juan Orlando Hernandez, with a hair under 58 per cent of the ballots counted. That was only marginally different from the previous update around 2 a.m., when 57 per cent had been tabulated.
Hernandez, an ally of the U.S., had gone into the election predicted to win based on his popularity for fighting crime, but his party also drew heavy criticism for getting a court to override a constitutional ban on consecutive presidential terms. Corruption cases also tainted the administration.
Turnout in Sunday’s vote appeared to be heavy across the country, with relatively minor irregularities reported.