2017_1201_07.mp3

Tensions are high in Honduras as the country waits for presidential election results to be announced tonight.

Both candidates have declared victory as vote counting dragged on for nearly a week.

Early on, opposition leader and TV host Salvador Nasralla had a five-point lead, but the election commission stopped updating the public with the tally.

Supporters of Nasralla have accused incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernández (sometimes referred to as JOH) and his administration of election fraud, and tensions erupted last night with violent protests and looting.

"FueraJOH narcodictador" "get out JOH, drug-dictator" #Elecciones2017Honduras pic.twitter.com/fMBtOH3X8i

— Honduras Solidarity (@hondurassol) December 1, 2017

“The general mood and the general feeling of Hondurans is that they've lost all faith and trust that the electoral tribunal are actually doing their job in a democratic and fair way,” says Karen Spring. She’s a coordinator for the human rights organization Honduras Solidarity Network, based in the capital of Tegucigalpa.

Spring worries that if Hernández is declared the victor, violent protests could continue.

Reports from city of La Lima, northern Honduras, a major North American sweatshop hub close to int'l shopping port,say protesters have been beaten, shot at with tear gas & shot at with live bullets while maintaining a road blockade. #HondurasElections2017 #elecciones2017honduras pic.twitter.com/N6yGyW0uYJ

— Honduras Solidarity (@hondurassol) December 1, 2017

The memory of the 2009 military coup that led to Hernández’s presidency is still fresh for Hondurans, Spring says, and protesters don't want a repeat.

She says: “When you go and you talk to people that are blocking the roads, that are protesting, they're saying ‘We're here defending our votes!’” 

You can listen to more about the political unrest in Honduras above. 

From PRI's The World ©2017 PRI