Honduran military vows to ensure orderly post-election power transfer

Military says that it will support the results of the election, mired in contested claims and fraud allegations.

The Honduran military has stepped into the chaotic aftermath of the country’s election, saying it will ensure the transfer of power is carried out once a winner is declared.

Armed forces chief Roosevelt Hernandez said on Wednesday that the military, which carried out a coup in 2009 and has a history of intervening in elections, would guarantee that the results were honoured.

“We have been clear,” Hernandez said on Wednesday. “We have said we will support and recognise the results.”

The Honduran election has been mired by allegations of fraud and impropriety by various parties, as well as United States President Donald Trump’s suggestion before voting that US funding for the country would be cut if anyone but his preferred candidate won.

President Xiomara Castro denounced what she called an “electoral coup” on Tuesday, citing irregularities and allegations of fraud during voting. Before the election, political opponents also accused the government, helmed by Castro and her left-leaning Libre Party, of intimidating election authorities.

Preliminary results show Rixi Moncada, Libre’s presidential candidate, trailing far behind centre-right Salvador Nasralla and Trump-backed Nasry Asfura, who currently leads by a small margin of about 40,000 votes, or about 1.32 percent.

Results have yet to be finalised, and Moncada has said that she will not recognise the outcome as legitimate. Nasralla has also condemned Trump’s intervention before the election, saying that the US leader’s threat that ties with Honduras would suffer if Nasralla won, cost him votes.

Technical issues experienced during the counting process by the National Electoral Council (CNE) have also added to the uncertainty, and CNE leader Ana Paola Hall requested the military to deploy forces outside of buildings where ballots are being stored.

Protests seeking clarity on the outcome of voting have remained peaceful, but tensions remain high, stoked by memories of previous flawed elections and violent repression following the 2009 coup.

Civil society groups have urged calm and patience.