Violent Protests And Vote-Count Delays Mar Presidential Election In Honduras

By Julian Hayda, Jerome McDonnell
Libre Alliance presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla looks at his watch as a woman wipes sweat from his forehead during a press conference in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. The opposition candidate says he will not recognize an official vote count by the country’s electoral court and is alleging manipulation of Sunday’s election.
Libre Alliance presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla looks at his watch as a woman wipes sweat from his forehead during a press conference in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. The opposition candidate says he will not recognize an official vote count by the country's electoral court and is alleging manipulation of Sunday's election. AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd
Libre Alliance presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla looks at his watch as a woman wipes sweat from his forehead during a press conference in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. The opposition candidate says he will not recognize an official vote count by the country’s electoral court and is alleging manipulation of Sunday’s election.
Libre Alliance presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla looks at his watch as a woman wipes sweat from his forehead during a press conference in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017. The opposition candidate says he will not recognize an official vote count by the country's electoral court and is alleging manipulation of Sunday's election. AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd

Violent Protests And Vote-Count Delays Mar Presidential Election In Honduras

By Julian Hayda, Jerome McDonnell
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Self-barricaded protesters clashed with police in Honduras on Thursday after the country’s widely criticized presidential election has no clear winner after four days of vote-counting.

President Juan Orlando Hernandez and rival Salvador Nasralla both claimed victory. Nasralla initially held a five-point lead.

After numerous delays in releasing the results, official numbers now favor the incumbent, Orlando Hernandez. Both candidates signed an agreement brokered by the Organization of American States (OAS) to honor the vote outcome. Nasralla later shifted course and urged supporters to take to the streets.

“They take us for idiots and want to steal our victory,” Nasralla said.

Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle is an interpreter/translator, community organizer, and member with the Chicago-based human rights group La Voz de Los de Abajo. He’s in Honduras to observe the election and will give us an update.