Weary of presidential election limbo, Hondurans demand transparency
| Mexico City; and Tegucigalpa, Honduras
In nearly every presidential election since Honduras鈥檚 1980 democratic transition, the new leader was announced just hours after polls closed.
This year, more than a week has passed without a victor. 聽Repeatedly, including Monday, there have been promises of imminent results.
The political limbo, crackdown on civil liberties, and skyrocketing mistrust for what鈥檚 happening behind the scenes as votes are counted has put Honduras鈥檚 democratic integrity under fire.
But accusations of the ruling National Party trying to consolidate power by attempting the country鈥檚 first reelection and claims of meddling with the vote count are countered by a small but significant bright spot: The Honduran population is standing up and sending a message that democracy, and their role in it, won鈥檛 be undermined.
Tens of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets across the country to call for transparency. Following clashes between security forces and protesters Friday, which resulted in at least one death, the government imposed a 10-day, 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, sending soldiers into the street. Hondurans adapted to the restraints, marching during the day and leaning over balconies to bang pots and pans in protest at night. There are now calls for a nation-wide general strike.
鈥淭he future of Honduras is in our hands,鈥� says one university聽student milling outside the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) late last week, while protesters nearby built roadblocks with burning tires and faced off with riot police armed with tear gas. The young woman declined to give her name out of fear she might face political persecution for speaking out. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 trust the Supreme Electoral Tribunal,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e are in a system of ingovernability.... [But] we are going to defend our institutions.鈥澛�
Reelection as a flashpoint
In the lead-up to the Nov. 26 vote, the reelection of President Juan Orlando Hern谩ndez聽seemed like a given. National polls projected a double-digit lead over challenger Salvador Nasralla.
But, after nearly 10 hours of silence from the electoral commission, officials聽announced Nov. 27 that Mr. Nasralla of the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship had a 5-point lead with more than 50 percent of the votes counted.
鈥淭he polls said Juan Orlando was going to win, but citizens, everyday people, when you talked with them, you realized there was a strong current against鈥� electing a president to a second consecutive term, says Eugenio Sosa, a sociologist who teaches at the National Autonomous University of聽Honduras.
He says he鈥檚 not surprised the polls and the media favored Mr. Hern谩ndez. 鈥淭he state has complete control over organizations,鈥� Mr. Sosa says. The international press watchdog Freedom House categorizes Honduran media as 鈥渘ot free.鈥�
The question of presidents serving more than one term consecutively became a flashpoint in Honduras in 2009, when pajama-clad then-President Manuel Zelaya was removed from his home by the military聽and put on a plane for Costa Rica. Defenders of the coup painted Mr. Zelaya鈥檚 call for a non-binding vote to hold a constituent assembly as a plan to do away with a constitutional ban on presidential reelection to a second term.
鈥淩eelection, historically, hasn鈥檛 been a big sacred cow in Honduras,鈥� says Rosemary Joyce, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and co-author of the Honduras Culture and Politics blog. 鈥淏efore Zelaya, we had truly never seen much conversation around [reelection]. But, using reelection to brand Zelaya has come back to haunt鈥� the National Party.
Nearly of Hondurans say they鈥檙e against reelection, according to a May 2017 report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
鈥淥nce again, the Honduran people are saying no to reelection,鈥� says Edwin Enriquo, who works in marketing, during a rally outside the opposition party headquarters Thursday.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 follow a party. I am following my convictions. I am defending my rights. We went to vote, and I feel it鈥檚 been a mockery to wait so long鈥� for the results, Mr. Enriquo says of his first time participating in demonstrations.
While in Congress in 2012, Hern谩ndez聽played a leading role in illegally firing four Supreme Court judges, later replacing them with National Party sympathizers. These judges had a key part in overturning the constitutional ban on reelection last year, paving the way for his reelection bid.
鈥淸A] pattern of to his personal authority鈥攐r of ensuring their weakness鈥攊s clearly visible,鈥� under Hern谩ndez鈥檚 administration, according to the Carnegie report.
Political agency
This isn鈥檛 the first time Hondurans have taken to the streets in recent years in the name of transparency. In 2015, months of peaceful, torch-lit protests swept the capital with some citizens calling for Hern谩ndez聽to step down over charges of campaign finance irregularities related to a Social Security scandal. Protesters were energized by the victories in neighboring Guatemala, including the use of months-long anti-corruption demonstrations to pressure President Otto P茅rez Molina to step down.
鈥淧eople in Honduras got the idea that they could be effective political agents,鈥� says Professor Joyce of the 2015 protests and the citizens taking to the streets today.
She considers the 鈥減ragmatic鈥� coalition of two parties with little in common coming together to support Nasralla鈥檚 candidacy as an alliance party to be a result of opposition politicians watching and participating in those 2015 protests.
The alliance 鈥渃ame out of listening to the people, out of a disgust in corruption generally,鈥� she says.
After the announcement of Nasralla鈥檚 initial lead Monday, a series of events unfolded casting doubt over the TSE鈥檚 impartiality. There were no public updates for nearly 36 hours. After a reported computer glitch on Wednesday, the gap between Hern谩ndez聽and Nasralla shrank dramatically. By Thursday, Hern谩ndez聽was in the lead by 46,586 votes, or roughly 1.5 percentage points, and local media report this morning that Hernandez鈥檚 margin has inched to roughly 53,000 votes.
The deadline to announce results has been pushed back repeatedly, with one TSE official calling for an independent auditor. 鈥淸S]erious doubts are ,鈥� Marcos Ramiro Lobo of the TSE told Reuters. Under opposition and international pressure, the TSE agreed to recount some contested ballots over the weekend, but there are another 5,200 polling places that the opposition believes merit a recount.聽 Some international observers, including the European Union and the Organization of American States, say those grievances should be .
Mr. Sosa says if the TSE follows through on requests for a transparent, total recount, he believes citizens will honor the results.
Either way, an announcement is expected from the TSE on Monday.
鈥淚f the National Party is declared the true winner, I expect to see more social movements emerge, and a stronger opposition,鈥� he says.
鈥淭he people will be more critical, more indignant, more tuned in to what is happening in their government and with their country.鈥�
[Editor's note: This story has been updated since its publication on Friday to reflect events over the weekend.]
