The government of Honduran President Juan Orland Hernandez has flatly rejected calls to repeat the presidential election that saw him re-elected, as unrest continues in the country over alleged irregularities in the poll.
“The only other elections there are going to be in this country will be on the last Sunday of November 2021,” First Vice President Ricardo Alvarez said on Monday.
Honduras held a presidential election on November 26. US-friendly Hernandez ran against TV personality and opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla. The electoral body in the country, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, several times delayed the announcement of the results. Nasralla, who had been initially in the lead, saw his margin collapse with each delay and finally fell behind Hernandez.
Final results showed the sitting president in the lead only by a razor-thin margin, and Hernandez was officially declared the winner of the elections on Sunday.
The Organization of American States (OAS) had called for a repeat of the election following the announcement of Hernandez’s win.
Meanwhile, protests have been ongoing on the streets of Honduras since Nasralla’s lead began to dwindle.
On Monday, security forces resorted to water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital, Tegucigalpa. At least two people were injured in the clashes.
Rights groups say at least 20 people have been killed by bullet wounds. That figure could not be independently verified.
The poor Central American nation of 8.6 million struggles with unemployment and gang violence.