Honduras awaits presidential vote count as army enforces curfew

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Honduras enforced a curfew on Saturday while still mired in chaos over a contested presidential election that has triggered looting and protests in which at least one person has died.

The government’s decision on Friday evening to enact the nationwide curfew for 10 days and expand the powers of the army and police was criticized by opposition leaders as a move to stifle protests over the presidential vote count that has stalled for a fifth day without leaving a clear winner.

Earlier, the electoral tribunal had said it would publish the final result of last Sunday’s presidential election at 9 p.m. local time (0300 GMT) on Friday, but the announcement was postponed.

People overcome by tear gas leave site of clashes between supporters of Salvador Nasralla, presidential candidate for the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, and police during a protest caused by the delayed vote count for the presidential election in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, December 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Election results initially favored opposition candidate and TV star Salvador Nasralla by five points with more than half the votes counted. They then swung in favor of US-backed center-right President Juan Orlando Hernandez after the count came to a halt on Monday and resumed over a day later, sparking protests.

The tribunal has said it will hand-count 1,031 outstanding ballot boxes with irregularities – or nearly six percent of the total – after the count was halted with Hernandez ahead by fewer than 50,000 votes, or about 1.5 percentage points.

However, Nasralla’s center-left alliance has called for votes to be recounted in three of Honduras’ 18 departments, or regions, and refused to recognize the tribunal’s special count until its demands for a wider review were met.

"If Juan Orlando wins, we’re ready to accept that, but we know that wasn’t the case, we know that Salvador won and that’s why they’re refusing the transparency demands,” said Marlon Ochoa, campaign manager of Nasralla’s alliance.

A family runs away from tear gas during post-election clashes in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, December 1, 2017. /Reuters Photo

International concern has grown about the electoral crisis in the poor Central American country which struggles with violent drug gangs and one of the world’s highest murder rates.

Police sources said at least one man had been shot and killed at a protest in the city of La Ceiba, while about 12 members of the military and police force had been injured in demonstrations that snarled traffic outside Honduras’ main port on Friday and around the country.

At least 10 protesters were injured in the capital of Tegucigalpa, according to the city’s Hospital Escuela.

Military officials called for peaceful protests after police reports of looting in the capital and other cities.

More than 100 people were also arrested on suspicion of looting in San Pedro Sula on Friday, a police spokesman said, and local media carried footage of shops being plundered.

People flocked to supermarkets on Friday, stocking up on food and provisions as major roads and supply routes were blocked across the country by angry protesters.

Source(s): Reuters ,Xinhua News Agency