TEGUCIGALPA: Election officials on Sunday reported “massive” numbers in Honduras’ voting, bolstering the opposition’s national party’s hopes of ending a dozen years of rule and possibly paving the way for leftist Xiomara Castro to win the presidency. met.
If she wins, the opposition standard-bearer Castro will become the first female president—11-25 in Honduras—and the first time since the 2009 coup ousted her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, the leftist’s return to power.
As the elections closed, the Electoral Council said that more than 2.7 million voters had already cast ballots, a figure that the council described as “mass turnout”, but that more votes were yet to be counted. Is.
Council President Calvin Aguirre said it had already surpassed the total turnout four years ago.
Voters can still vote in line in a contest marked by the conservative ruling party’s efforts to clear several corruption scandals while attacking Castro as a dangerous fanatic, he said.
Long lines can be seen at many polling stations in the capital. Nationwide, some 5.2 million Hondurans are eligible to vote.
For months, Castro sought to unite the opposition of outgoing President Juan Orlando Hernández, who denied allegations of having links to powerful gangs despite an open investigation in the United States allegedly linking him to drug trafficking. has done.
Having tied up with the 2017 runner-up, a popular TV presenter, most of the polls have cemented her front-running position.
“We can’t stay at home. This is our moment. This is the moment to end the dictatorship,” said Castro, crowded by journalists after voting in Catacamas City earlier in the day.
“If not now then when.”
The candidate said he is confident that voters will report any problems to international observers https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/honduras-parties-flag-fears-fraud-ahead-pivotal-vote-2021- 11 -27 will also help in ensuring a fair vote.
‘This is Honduras’
Election is latest political flashpoint https://www.reuters.com/article/honduras-election/factbox-hondurans-head-to-polls-cartels-poverty-and-china-loom-idUSL4N2SE32S In Central America, a major chronic unemployment and the source of migrants to America fleeing gangland violence. Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world, although homicide rates have been declining recently.
Central America is also a major transit point for drug trafficking, and where concerns have risen over increasingly authoritarian governments.
The vote sparked a diplomatic tussle between Beijing and Washington at https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/united-states-china-tussle-over-honduras-it-weighs-taiwan-ties-2021-11-26 Inspired too. Castro said she would open diplomatic ties with China, emphasizing ties with US-backed Taiwan.
Castro’s main rival among the 13 presidential candidates is National Party’s Nasri Asfura https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/honduran-ruling-party-hopeful-asfura-faces-uphill-climb-2021-11- 26, a wealthy businessman and two-term mayor of the capital Tegucigalpa, who has tried to distance himself from the unpopular incumbent.
After casting his vote, a measured Asafura said he would respect the voter’s decision.
“I will respect whatever the Honduran people want in the end,” he said.
Some voters consulted by Reuters expressed dissatisfaction with his choice, but many others were clear favourites.
“I am against all corruption, poverty and drug trafficking,” said 27-year-old mechanic Jose Gonzalez, who said he would vote for Castro.
Hernandez’s controversial 2017 re-election, and its ugly outcome, looms large. Widespread reports of irregularities that claimed the lives of more than two dozen people provoked deadly protests, but they eventually dismissed the fraudulent claims and called for a re-vote.
Alexa Sanchez, a 22-year-old medical student, lay on a bench after voting while listening to music on her headphones and said she reluctantly voted for Castro.
“Honestly, it’s not like there were so many good options,” he said, adding that he was highly skeptical of the clean vote.
“I don’t think so,” she said. “This is Honduras.”
hard drive
Several national and international election observers monitored Sunday’s vote, including the European Union’s 68-member mission.
The EU’s chief observer Zeljana Zovko told reporters around noon that her team saw a peaceful turnout, with most polling stations open late.
“The campaign has been very difficult,” said Juliette Castellanos, a sociologist and former dean of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, noting that Castro “created great hopes.”
Castellanos said that post-election violence is possible if the race is particularly close, if a large number of complaints are filed and give rise to suspicions of widespread fraud, or if candidates declare themselves victorious prematurely. Huh.
On Sunday afternoon, National Party leader Fernando Endure made such an announcement, assuring Asafura a victory while voting continued.
In addition to the presidential race, voters are also deciding the composition of the country’s 128-member Congress, as well as officials from about 300 local governments.
In the working-class Kennedy neighborhood of Tegucigalpa, 56-year-old accountant Jose, who declined to give his surname, said he would stay with the ruling party.
“I hope Tito Asafura can change everything,” he said, using the mayor’s nickname.
“Look, there is corruption in all the governments here.”
Preliminary results are expected around 9 pm
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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