Juan Orlando Hernandez, the candidate for the conservative Partido Nacional (National Party), was confirmed as the new president of Honduras on Thursday. Hernandez won 36.9 percent of the vote, with opposition candidate Xiomara Castro of the Partido Libertad y Refundación (Liberty and Refoundation Party—Libre) coming in second with 28.8 percent of the votes, according to the Honduran electoral tribunal (TSE.) Castro, whose husband Manuel Zelaya was ousted as president during a 2009 coup, has rejected the results claiming there was fraud.
Libre emerged after the ousting of ex-president Zelaya as a left leaning alternative to the National Party. Libre has staged sit-ins and protests outside the offices of the TSE, which has refused to examine 3,604 tallies presented as evidence of fraud, says ex-president Zelaya. According to Libre’s legal representative, the TSE has also refused audits and inspections despite the fact that the voter registry included people who were dead or abroad. The party plans to ask the Supreme Court to demand a review of the election results, while Hernandez denies fraud and says his victory is legitimate.
The new president faces great challenges, as Honduras boasts rising inequality, widespread corruption and the world’s highest homicide rate. The most recent election was also affected by violence, as two Libre party leaders were assassinated on November 24 and a TV Journalist who openly opposed the 2009 coup was shot to death on December 10. Honduras remains one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist.
