Honduras Election Protests: Constitution Suspended, Curfew Imposed

Honduras government led by right-wing President Juan Orlando Hernández has suspended the constitutional guarantees, as massive protests have swept across the country against the election fraud allegations. On Friday evening, a 10-day curfew was imposed and Army and police has been given more powers to quell the protests.

According to reports, at least two protesters have been killed and over 20 people were injured since the controversial election held on Sunday.

"The officials will announce the scope of the constitutional guarantees that have been adopted by the council of ministers led by the government coordinator, Jorge Ramon Hernandez Alcerro," Diaz said during the broadcast.

Honduras’ Opposition Alliance candidate Salvador Nasralla in a Facebook video claimed that Hernandez had fled to the United States as the country plunges into chaos.

"Here in Honduras, we are in a situation of fraud against me," the opposition leader said. "I won the elections with 70 percent of the vote, with 116,000 more votes than Hernandez. Mathematically, it is impossible that this would change even with the 30 percent of the ballots left to count.”

President Hernández, a US ’s ally in the region and belonging to centre-right National Party, is running for second time for the Presidency. But presidential re-election is prohibited by the Honduran Constitution.

The constitution, according to experts, mandates the immediate termination of a sitting president who dares to advocate a change to the ban.

Almost eight years ago, former President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a military coup, after trying to organise a non-binding referendum on whether to change that article of the Constitution.

According to reports the right-wing leader Hernández was a key figure in orchestrating the 2009 coup that ousted former President Zelaya.

But President Hernández had concrete plans to ensure he does not meet the same fate of Zelaya for standing up for re-election.

Hernández’s campaign for re-election started even before he was president — when he and his party made sure that the Supreme Court is with supporters. Thus, removing any judicial obstruction to his re-election plan.

The Supreme Court, in 2015, backed Hernández’s effort, ruling that term limits violate an individual’s right to run for office. Now Hernández is using the ruling to justify his selection campaign.

Meanwhile, President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) David Matamoros reported that the "special scrutiny" of electoral records was being further delayed.

"We ask for patience, we have nothing to hide," he said, as massive protests continued in response to the delayed release of the election results.