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Honduras election: Hernandez and Castro both claim win | |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Vote counting is taking place in Honduras, with both main presidential candidates claiming victory. | |
With 42% of votes declared, the conservative Juan Orlando Hernandez leads with 34.15%, while Xiomara Castro has 28.45%, say election officials. | |
But Ms Castro, wife of ousted ex-president Manuel Zelaya, has announced to reporters that she has won. | |
Turn-out was high in Honduras, with millions voting for a new president, members of parliament and local mayors. | |
Voting took place amid tight security, but no serious incidents were reported in the country, which has the highest murder rate in the world. | |
Polling was extended for one hour due to a big turn-out. | |
"Thank God and thank you to the Honduran people for this triumph," posted Mr Hernandez on his Twitter page, at that stage with 24% of votes declared. | |
But Ms Castro also used her Twitter account to announce that she had won: "Based on the exit poll results that I have received from the whole country, I can tell you: I am the president of Honduras." | |
She is bidding to become the first female president of Honduras | |
"Today, we can say that we have won," Ms Castro told reporters. | |
David Matamoros, president of the electoral court, said final results were not expected until early Monday. | |
"The preliminary results we have given so far do not show any tendency or declare any winner,'' he said. | |
Opinions polls had pointed to a close race between Ms Castro and Mr Hernandez, the two leading candidates in the presidential race. | |
Mr Hernandez, whose National Party backed the military coup in 2009 against Zelaya, has vowed to restore order with more soldiers and police on the streets. | |
Ms Castro has proposed a community police force to tackle local crime, with more soldiers deployed to the borders to combat drug trafficking. | |
Around 5.4m Hondurans were registered to vote and authorities say there was 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. | 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. | 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. | 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 the violence is blamed on gang violence and drug traffickers. | |
Nearly 30,000 police and soldiers were deployed to ensure security during Sunday's elections. | Nearly 30,000 police and soldiers were deployed to ensure security during Sunday's elections. |
A margin of just one vote is needed for a win - there is no run-off election. | |