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Honduras election: Hernandez and Castro both claim win | 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. | Vote counting is taking place in Honduras, with both main presidential candidates claiming victory. |
With more than half of votes declared, the conservative Juan Orlando Hernandez leads with about 34%, while Xiomara Castro has 28%, say election officials. | |
But Ms Castro, the wife of ousted ex-president Manuel Zelaya, told reporters that she has won. | |
Turnout was high, with millions of Hondurans voting for a new president, members of parliament and local mayors. | |
Around 5.4m Hondurans were registered to vote and authorities say there was a "massive turn-out". | |
Voting took place amid tight security, but no serious incidents were reported. Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world. | |
Mr Hernandez declared victory when 24% of votes had been announced. "Thank God and thank you to the Honduran people for this triumph," he posted on his Twitter page. | |
But Ms Castro also used her Twitter account to say 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 hoping 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 later on Monday. | |
"The preliminary results we have given so far do not show any tendency or declare any winner,'' he said. | "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. | |
Mr Hernandez, whose National Party backed the ousting of Mr Zelaya in 2009, 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. | Ms Castro has proposed a community police force to tackle local crime, with more soldiers deployed to the borders to combat drug trafficking. |
Analysts say victory for Mr Hernandez would be a blow to Mr Zelaya, who has hoped to stage a comeback behind his wife. | |
Mr Zelaya took office in 2006 but his interest in amending the constitution was interpreted by his opponents as a bid to seek a second term. | |
The Supreme Court, backed by Congress, ordered his removal from office and the military forced him out of the country. | |
Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo Sosa of the right-wing National Party won a November 2009 election organised by the interim authorities. Mr Lobo was sworn into office in January 2010 as Mr Zelaya went into exile. | |
The move, which plunged the country into political crisis, was denounced as a coup by US President Barack Obama and other foreign leaders. | |
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. It also has the world's highest murder rate, averaging 20 killings a day. | |
Much of the violence is blamed on gang violence and drug traffickers. | 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. | A margin of just one vote is needed for a win - there is no run-off election. |