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Hondurans Vote After Tumultuous Race Close Vote Raises Tensions in Honduras
(about 2 hours later)
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Besieged by crime and mired in poverty, Hondurans went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president at the end of a long campaign that has cracked open the country’s ossified politics. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Honduras appeared headed toward days of political tension Sunday as the two leading candidates each declared they had won the presidency.
Xiomara Castro, the wife of President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a coup four years ago, is the candidate of a new left-wing party challenging the political and business elites in one of Latin America’s poorest nations. With 43 percent of the votes counted, Juan Orlando Hernández, the conservative candidate of the ruling National Party, led with 35 percent to 28.4 percent for Xiomara Castro, the candidate of the left-wing Libre party.
The race between her and Juan Orlando Hernández, a former president of the National Congress, is too close to call, and has been dominated by personality and ideology rather than specific proposals. Over 20 percent of the electorate was undecided before the vote, according to estimates, and voting was extended for an hour because of high turnout. The dispute came at the end of a long campaign that has cracked open the country’s ossified politics. Ms. Castro, the wife of former President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a coup four years ago, leads a new party that is challenging the political and business elites in one of Latin America’s poorest nations.
Ms. Castro, 54, is running as a candidate of change, renewing her husband’s promise to rewrite the Constitution to give the country’s impoverished majority a greater role. Mr. Hernández, 45, of the ruling National Party, has focused on security based on a new military police force that began to patrol the rutted streets of the country’s most murderous neighborhoods five weeks ago. The race between her and Mr. Hernández, a former president of the National Congress, has been dominated by personality and ideology rather than specific proposals. Over 20 percent of the electorate was undecided before the vote, according to estimates, and voting was extended for an hour because of high turnout.
Of the six other candidates, only Salvador Nasralla, a television host, and Mauricio Villeda of the Liberal Party have enough support to pull off an upset. Honduras, one of Latin America’s most economically unequal countries, is besieged by crime that has decimated the slums of its major cities, where residents have become the constant victims of gang violence, police corruption and drug trafficking.
Ms. Castro, 54, ran as a candidate of change, renewing her husband’s promise to rewrite the Constitution to give the country’s impoverished majority a greater role. Mr. Hernández, 45, has focused on security, pinning his campaign on a new military police force that began to patrol the country’s most murderous neighborhoods five weeks ago.
The rest of the vote was divided among six other candidates, led by Mauricio Villeda, a leader of the traditional Liberal Party, who had about 21 percent of the vote in the early results. Salvador Nasralla, a television host running on an anticorruption platform, was in fourth place. He said in a radio interview late Sunday that he rejected the official results.
Regardless of the final result, it was clear that Honduran politics was entering a new, potentially messy period, when multiple parties would have to negotiate to get laws passed and new voices representing the county’s marginalized poor would get a hearing.
After the polls closed, activists flocked to watch the vote count. “I want to see that it’s transparent,” said Olga Check, 42, an accountant from central Tegucigalpa. She stood with a couple dozen other people as each ballot was held up for display and placed on the correct pile.After the polls closed, activists flocked to watch the vote count. “I want to see that it’s transparent,” said Olga Check, 42, an accountant from central Tegucigalpa. She stood with a couple dozen other people as each ballot was held up for display and placed on the correct pile.
Iris Medina, 40, a stay-at-home mother voting in Comayagüela, near the capital, Tegucigalpa, early Sunday said that this election was different. “There are a lot more people who have entered into politics, and we think maybe they can offer us something new,” she said. She declined to say whom she had voted for.Iris Medina, 40, a stay-at-home mother voting in Comayagüela, near the capital, Tegucigalpa, early Sunday said that this election was different. “There are a lot more people who have entered into politics, and we think maybe they can offer us something new,” she said. She declined to say whom she had voted for.
The campaign’s spending levels were unheard-of in the past. The leading candidates have held giant rallies, flooded television ad space and blanketed cities with posters. With no campaign finance oversight, it is unclear how the candidates — particularly Mr. Hernández, with the largest presence — are paying for it all. Although there were irregularities reported in Sunday’s vote, including intimidation by armed men in some rural areas, the postelection dispute is more likely to hinge on the conditions leading up the balloting. The campaign’s spending levels were unheard-of in the past. The leading candidates held giant rallies, flooded television with ads and blanketed cities with posters. With no campaign finance oversight, it was unclear how the candidates — particularly Mr. Hernández, with the largest presence — were paying for it all.
Behind the musical beats and noisy flag-waving at the rallies, there has been violence and intimidation. The national university said last week that 17 members of Ms. Castro’s party, known as Libre, and 16 people from the two traditional parties had been killed since May 2012. Behind the music and noisy flag waving at the rallies, there has been violence and intimidation. The national university said last week that 17 members of Ms. Castro’s party and 16 people from the two traditional parties had been killed since May 2012.
Human rights groups reported on Sunday that two rural organizers, both Libre activists, were ambushed and killed on Saturday night on their way home from electoral training in Cantarranas, a municipality in the central department of Francisco Morazán. Both of the victims were involved in a struggle over land rights.Human rights groups reported on Sunday that two rural organizers, both Libre activists, were ambushed and killed on Saturday night on their way home from electoral training in Cantarranas, a municipality in the central department of Francisco Morazán. Both of the victims were involved in a struggle over land rights.
The election is being closely monitored by some 750 international observers and 15,000 national monitors, including thousands of students hired by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which organized the elections. The election was closely monitored by some 750 international observers and 15,000 national monitors, including thousands of students hired by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which organized the elections.
“There are lots of people who have the will to go and vote and, for the first time in their lives, have the feeling that their vote really can change something,” said Ulrike Lunacek, the leader of the European Union’s electoral observation mission. Julieta Castellanos, the rector of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, said Sunday that the reports from election observers did not “show any evidence of manipulation.”
The polling places are supposed to be staffed by members of all nine political parties, but observers warned that the smaller parties would not be able to fill all their spaces, raising the concern that they might sell them to larger parties, said Adán Palacios, a former election official.The polling places are supposed to be staffed by members of all nine political parties, but observers warned that the smaller parties would not be able to fill all their spaces, raising the concern that they might sell them to larger parties, said Adán Palacios, a former election official.
Still, election observers believe that the final count for president will be accurate despite “the general perception of fraud,” said Salvador Romero, the resident director in Honduras for the National Democratic Institute, an organization financed by the United States’ Democratic Party.Still, election observers believe that the final count for president will be accurate despite “the general perception of fraud,” said Salvador Romero, the resident director in Honduras for the National Democratic Institute, an organization financed by the United States’ Democratic Party.
There are six other candidates for president and no second round, so whoever wins will have a weak mandate: No one is likely to take more than 40 percent of the vote. Hondurans are also choosing 128 members of Congress from among nine parties, and the new president will face a highly fractured legislature. There is no second round, so whoever wins will have a weak mandate: No one is likely to take more than 40 percent of the vote.
In a sign of concern over the unfettered flow of funds, the Center for Documentation of Honduras — known by its Spanish acronym, Cedoh — is preparing a study on campaign spending, including an effort to determine how drug traffickers may be influencing local campaigns. The National Democratic Institute is also sponsoring a survey to gauge vote-buying practices.
For the country’s 5.3 million or so voters, the cluttered ballots with rows of candidates present a very different picture from the past. The National and Liberal Parties have dominated Honduran politics for more than a century, alternating with each other and with periods of military rule.
María Jose Agüero, 20, a philosophy student, said she was voting for Mr. Nasralla, who has run an anticorruption campaign. “There are candidates giving money to people for their vote, and that’s extremely inappropriate,” Ms. Agüero said.

Nicholas Phillips reported from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Elisabeth Malkin from Mexico City.

Nicholas Phillips reported from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Elisabeth Malkin from Mexico City.