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| Honduras election: president Juan Orlando Hernandez declared winner amid unrest | Honduras election: president Juan Orlando Hernandez declared winner amid unrest |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| President Juan Orlando Hernandez was declared the winner Sunday of Honduras’ disputed election after three weeks of uncertainty and unrest in which at least 17 people died in protests amid the opposition’s allegations of vote fraud. | President Juan Orlando Hernandez was declared the winner Sunday of Honduras’ disputed election after three weeks of uncertainty and unrest in which at least 17 people died in protests amid the opposition’s allegations of vote fraud. |
| Electoral court president David Matamoros made the announcement, saying, “We have fulfilled our obligation (and) we wish for there to be peace in our country.” | Electoral court president David Matamoros made the announcement, 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% to 41.42% for runner-up Salvador Nasralla who, well before the announcement, had challenged the result and said he would not recognise it. | |
| His party called for more protests on Monday and Nasralla said he was headed to Washington to meet US State Department officials and present what he called “numerous” examples of evidence of alleged fraud. He said he would also meet the head of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the outcome of those meetings would help determine what steps to take. | |
| The OAS electoral observer mission said late on Sunday it could not confirm that the election had been “intentionally manipulated” but added that the process had been riddled with issues. “The mission considers that it has observed a low-quality electoral process and as such cannot confirm that the questions surrounding it have been cleared up,” its head, Jorge Tuto Quiroga, said. | |
| There was no immediate public comment by Hernandez, whose sister Hilda Hernandez, a cabinet minister, died on Saturday in a helicopter crash. | |
| Interviewed by UneTV during a layover at the Miami airport, Nasralla called Hernandez’s re-election illegitimate. “The declaration by the court is a mockery because it tramples the will of the people,” Nasralla said. He added that he was “very optimistic” because “the people do not endorse fraud”. | |
| OAS secretary general Luis Almagro said via Twitter shortly before the announcement that election observers concluded “serious doubts persist about the results.” He asked that no “irresponsible pronouncements” be made before observers could make definitive reports. | OAS secretary general Luis Almagro said via Twitter shortly before the announcement that election observers concluded “serious doubts persist about the results.” He asked that no “irresponsible pronouncements” be made before observers could make definitive reports. |
| If you have been affected by the events in Honduras you can tell us about it using our encrypted form, or by sending your pictures and videos to the Guardian securely via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056. | If you have been affected by the events in Honduras you can tell us about it using our encrypted form, or by sending your pictures and videos to the Guardian securely via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056. |
| Your stories will help our journalists have a more complete picture of these events and we will use some of them in our reporting. | Your stories will help our journalists have a more complete picture of these events and we will use some of them in our reporting. |
| Your safety is most important, so please ensure that you’re taking this into account when recording or sharing your content. | Your safety is most important, so please ensure that you’re taking this into account when recording or sharing your content. |
| The first results reported by the electoral court before dawn the day after the 26 November election showed Nasralla with a significant lead over Hernandez with nearly 60% of the vote counted. | |
| Then public updates of the count mysteriously stopped for more than a day, and when they resumed, that lead steadily eroded and ultimately reversed in Hernandez’s favor. | Then public updates of the count mysteriously stopped for more than a day, and when they resumed, that lead steadily eroded and ultimately reversed in Hernandez’s favor. |
| The electoral court recently conducted a recount of ballot boxes that presented irregularities and said there was virtually no change to its count. Since then it had been considering challenges filed by candidates. | The electoral court recently conducted a recount of ballot boxes that presented irregularities and said there was virtually no change to its count. Since then it had been considering challenges filed by candidates. |
| Despite widespread suspicions of electoral malfeasance, especially among Nasralla’s supporters, Matamoros defended the court’s performance. He said it had presided over “the most transparent electoral process ever seen in Honduras.” | Despite widespread suspicions of electoral malfeasance, especially among Nasralla’s supporters, Matamoros defended the court’s performance. He said it had presided over “the most transparent electoral process ever seen in Honduras.” |
| Hernandez, a 49-year-old businessman and former lawmaker, took office in January 2014 and built support largely on a drop in violence in this impoverished Central American country. | Hernandez, a 49-year-old businessman and former lawmaker, took office in January 2014 and built support largely on a drop in violence in this impoverished Central American country. |
| According to Honduras’ National Autonomous University, the nation’s homicide rate has plummeted from a dizzying high of 91.6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011 to 59 per 100,000 — though Honduras remains among the deadliest places in the world. | According to Honduras’ National Autonomous University, the nation’s homicide rate has plummeted from a dizzying high of 91.6 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2011 to 59 per 100,000 — though Honduras remains among the deadliest places in the world. |
| But corruption and drug trafficking allegations cast a shadow over Hernandez’s government, and his re-election bid fueled charges that his National Party was seeking to entrench itself in power by getting a court ruling allowing him to seek a second term. | But corruption and drug trafficking allegations cast a shadow over Hernandez’s government, and his re-election bid fueled charges that his National Party was seeking to entrench itself in power by getting a court ruling allowing him to seek a second term. |
| Re-election has long been outlawed in the country, and in 2009 then President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup ostensibly because he wanted to run again himself. | Re-election has long been outlawed in the country, and in 2009 then President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a coup ostensibly because he wanted to run again himself. |
| Zelaya, who founded the party that ran Nasralla as its candidate, was critical of the president Sunday. | Zelaya, who founded the party that ran Nasralla as its candidate, was critical of the president Sunday. |
| “The people say: ’You are not our President,’” Zelaya tweeted. “We must mobilize immediately to all public places. They are violating the will of the PEOPLE.” | “The people say: ’You are not our President,’” Zelaya tweeted. “We must mobilize immediately to all public places. They are violating the will of the PEOPLE.” |
| Hernandez’s government recently accused Zelaya and Nasralla of ordering “gangs” to block streets and commit violent acts amid the protests, which have seen burning barricades and clashes between rock-throwing demonstrators and police and soldiers responding with tear gas. | Hernandez’s government recently accused Zelaya and Nasralla of ordering “gangs” to block streets and commit violent acts amid the protests, which have seen burning barricades and clashes between rock-throwing demonstrators and police and soldiers responding with tear gas. |
| “The generalised crisis that Honduras is experiencing is primarily due to the disagreement there has been between the political parties which, in a democracy, must respect the majority will of the people expressed at the ballot box,” national human rights commissioner Roberto Herrera said in a statement. | “The generalised crisis that Honduras is experiencing is primarily due to the disagreement there has been between the political parties which, in a democracy, must respect the majority will of the people expressed at the ballot box,” national human rights commissioner Roberto Herrera said in a statement. |
| Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report |