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Honduras presidential polls close after big turn-out | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Polls in Honduras have closed after millions voted for a new president, members of parliament and local mayors. | |
Polling was extended for one hour to 17:00 local time (23:00GMT) due to a big turn-out. The first results were expected about two hours later. | |
Voting took place amid tight security, but no serious incidents were reported. | |
Opinions polls point to a close race between conservative Juan Orlando Hernandez and Xiomara Castro, the wife of ousted ex-president Manuel Zelaya. | |
Mr Zelaya was removed from office in a coup in 2009. Mr Hernandez is the candidate of the National Party, which backed the military coup against the former president. | |
Although the electoral law prohibits broadcasting of early trends, the media are allowed to broadcast vote counting. | |
The polling stations opened at 07:00 local time (13:00 GMT). | |
Around 5.4m Hondurans are registered to vote and authorities say there has been a "massive turn-out". | |
Authorities say the shooting of five men in the region of La Mosquitia caused panic and delayed the start of the elections in the town. | |
But it was not clear if the incident had any link to the polling. | |
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. It also has the world's highest murder rate, averaging 20 a day. | |
Much of it is blamed on gang violence and drug traffickers. | Much of it is blamed on gang violence and drug traffickers. |
Nearly 30,000 police and soldiers were deployed to ensure security during Sunday's elections. | |
Some correspondents say the polls give the two main presidential contenders a statistical tie, raising fears of a disputed result that could produce more instability and protests. | Some correspondents say the polls give the two main presidential contenders a statistical tie, raising fears of a disputed result that could produce more instability and protests. |
A margin of just one vote is needed for a win - there is no run-off election. An electoral tribunal decides whether a recount is necessary, AP reports. | A margin of just one vote is needed for a win - there is no run-off election. An electoral tribunal decides whether a recount is necessary, AP reports. |