Honduran general election, 2013

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Honduran general election, 2013
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  Juan Orlando Hernandez, May 2015.jpg Xiomara Castro.jpg
Nominee Juan Orlando Hernández Xiomara Castro
Party National LIBRE
Popular vote1,149,302896,498
Percentage36.89%28.78%
  Mel Zelaya, Guillermo Valle, Salvador Nasralla y Mauricio Villeda (cropped).jpg Salvador Nasralla in 2013 (cropped).jpg
Nominee Mauricio Villeda Salvador Nasralla
Party Liberal Anti-Corruption
Popular vote632,320418,443
Percentage20.30%13.43%
President before election

Porfirio Lobo Sosa
National

Elected President

Juan Orlando Hernández
National

Honduras
Coat of arms of Honduras.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Honduras

General elections were held in Honduras on November 24, 2013. [1] Voters went to the polls to elect a new President, the 128 members of the National Congress, 298 Mayors and vice-mayors and their respective councilors and 20 representatives to the Central American Parliament.

Honduras republic in Central America

Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. In the past, it was sometimes referred to as "Spanish Honduras" to differentiate it from British Honduras, which later became modern-day Belize. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.

President of Honduras head of state and head of government of Honduras

The President of Honduras officially known as the President of the Republic of Honduras, is the head of state and head of government of Honduras, and the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. According to the 1982 Constitution of Honduras, the Government of Honduras consists of three branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The President is the head of the Executive branch, their primary duty being to "Execute and enforce the Constitution, treaties and conventions, laws and other legal dispositions." The President is directly elected for a four year term.

National Congress of Honduras parliament

The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of Honduras.

Contents

The closely watched presidential election saw a field of eight candidates vying to succeed outgoing President Porfirio Lobo Sosa, who is not eligible to run for re-election. Salvador Nasralla, a sports journalist and television personality, and Xiomara Castro, the wife of the deposed president Mel Zelaya, both candidates from newly formed political parties (the Anti-Corruption Party and Libre, respectively) were leading in most of the early polls. However, as the election neared, the candidates of the two traditional parties – Juan Orlando Hernández of the National Party and Mauricio Villeda of the Liberal Party – both surged in the polls.

Porfirio Lobo Sosa President of Honduras

Porfirio Lobo Sosa, known as Pepe Lobo, is a Honduran politician and agricultural landowner who served as President of Honduras from 2010 to 2014. A member of the conservative National Party and a former deputy in the National Congress of Honduras from 1990, he was president of the National Congress of Honduras from 2002 to 2006. He came second to Manuel Zelaya with 46% of the vote in the 2005 general election. After the military ousted Zelaya in a coup d'état, Lobo was elected president in the 2009 presidential election and took office on 27 January 2010.

Salvador Nasralla Television presenter

Salvador Alejandro César Nasralla Salum is a Honduran sports journalist, television presenter, master of ceremonies, businessman, and politician. He is the presenter of the TV programs 5 Deportivo and X-0 da Dinero, and has been called "El señor de la televisión". He was the founder of the Anti-Corruption Party in 2011 when he stood for President in the Honduran general election, 2013. He stood again in the Honduran general election, 2017 for the political alliance Alianza de Oposición contra la Dictadura, made up of Liberty and Refoundation and the Innovation and Unity Party. He lost the election, but the Organization of American States called for a new vote amidst widespread irregularities.

Xiomara Castro First lady of Honduras

Iris Xiomara Castro de Zelaya or simply Xiomara Castro is a Honduran politician. She was a candidate for the 2013 presidential election representing the left-wing Libre Party. The wife of deposed former President Manuel Zelaya, Castro was a leader of the movement resisting the 2009 Honduran coup d'état that ousted her husband from power prematurely.

Background

This is the first election to be contested by the opposition since the controversial and polarising 2009 Honduran coup d'état. The social mobilization since then led to the founding of the main opposition party, Libre. [2]

2009 Honduran <i>coup détat</i>

The 2009 Honduran coup d'état, part of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred when the Honduran Army on June 28, 2009 followed orders from the Honduran Supreme Court to oust President Manuel Zelaya and send him into exile. Zelaya had attempted to schedule a non-binding poll on holding a referendum on convening a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution. Zelaya refused to comply with court orders to cease, and the Honduran Supreme Court issued a secret warrant for his arrest dated 26 June. Two days later, Honduran soldiers stormed the president's house in the middle of the night and detained him, forestalling the poll. Instead of bringing him to trial, the army put him on a military aeroplane and flew him to Costa Rica. Later that day, after the reading of a resignation letter of disputed authenticity, the Honduran Congress voted to remove Zelaya from office, and appointed Speaker of Congress Roberto Micheletti, his constitutional successor, to replace him.

The National Popular Resistance Front or National People's Resistance Front, frequently referred to as the National Resistance Front, is a wide coalition of Honduran grassroots organisations and political parties and movements that aims to restore elected President Manuel Zelaya and hold a constituent assembly to draw up a new constitution.

Liberty and Refoundation political party

Liberty and Refoundation is a leftist political party in Honduras. Libre was founded in 2011 by the National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP), a leftist coalition of organizations opposed to the 2009 coup.

The two-party system

Honduras has historically been dominated by a two-party system – the National Party and the Liberal Party. This election represents the first time in Honduran history in which other parties have a chance at winning the presidency or at least gaining a significant representation in the Congress, four of which find their genesis post-coup. [3]

Human rights concerns

The elections are set to take place amidst a deteriorating human rights situations. [4] Amnesty International called attention to the killings of human rights defenders in the lead-up to the election, noting that Honduras has the highest homicide rate in the world yet only twenty percent of homicides are investigated. [4] Honduran human rights organizations formed the Board of Analysis on the Human Rights Situation to monitor human rights violations surrounding the election, [5] pointing to the level of political violence in the country: human rights group Rights Action examined the period between May 2012 and October 2013 and documented 36 killings and 24 armed attacks against pre-candidates, candidates, their families and campaign leaders across all parties, with Libre experiencing the majority of both armed attacks and killings. [6] In light of this situation, 24 U.S. Senators signed a letter to the U.S. State Department expressing their concerns about the upcoming elections. [7]

Amnesty International London-based international human rights organization

Amnesty International is a London-based non-governmental organization focused on human rights. The organization says it has more than seven million members and supporters around the world.

United States Senate Upper house of the United States Congress

The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol, in Washington, D.C.

United States Department of State United States federal executive department responsible for foreign affairs

The United States Department of State (DOS), commonly referred to as the State Department, is the federal executive department that advises the President and conducts international relations. Equivalent to the foreign ministry of other countries, it was established in 1789 as the nation's first executive department. The current Secretary of State is Mike Pompeo, who ascended to the office in April 2018 after Rex Tillerson resigned.

Campaign

Key electoral issues have been citizen security, organized crime, unemployment, and corruption. [8] One of the main components of Hernández's campaign is his promise to put "a soldier on every corner." [9] For her part, Castro has emphasized the need for community policing and secure borders. [10]

Presidential election

Primaries

Primaries were held for the National Party, Liberal Party and Libre.

National

Juan Orlando Hernández, president of the National Congress of Honduras, won the presidential nomination of the National Party. The other candidates were Ricardo Álvarez (the Mayor of Tegucigalpa), Fernando Anduray (National Congress deputy), Victor Hugo Barnica (Third Vice President of Honduras), Eva Fernandez, Loreley Fernandez, and Miguel Pastor (Secretary of State for Public Works, Transport, and Housing). The Supreme Electoral Tribunal certified Hernández's victory, but Álvarez immediately presented an appeal, accusing Hernández of fraud and asking for a recount. [11] The appeal was rejected by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, four of whose five members were replaced by Hernández a month earlier in a move widely criticized as an illegal "technical coup". [9] [12] [13] Álvarez and Pastor refused to attend the party convention in protest, claiming that they were being persecuted by their own party. [14]

Liberal

Mauricio Villeda, won the presidential nomination of the Liberal Party. Other candidates in the fray for the presidential nomination were Esteban Handal Perez and Yani Rosenthal (National Congress deputy and former Minister of Presidency).

Libre

Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, former First Lady of Honduras, was the sole presidential candidate in the Libre primaries.

Opinion polls

President

polling organisation, [ref]datepoll detailscandidate
Hernández (PN) Castro (Libre) Villeda (PL) Nasralla (PAC)(other response)
Cid/Gallup [15] 6–12 September 2013national; 1220 adults27%29%15%11%
Paradigma [16] 16–24 September 2013national; 2400 adults21.9%22.8%12.0%10.0%Others: 1%; Don’t know/no response: 11%; None: 21.3%
TecniMerk [17] 28 September – 5 October 2013national; 2500 adults21.0%31.2%13.3%14.8%Don’t know/no response: 18.5%
Cid/Gallup [18] 9–15 October 2013national; 1525 adults28%27%17%9%
Paradigma [19] 10–19 October 2013national; 4025 adults25.7%22.2%10.7%9.9%Others: 0.7%; Don’t know/no response: 12.3%; None: 18.5%

Congress

polling organisation, [ref]datepoll details PN Libre PL PAC Other partyNone/Independents/No answer
Cid/Gallup [15] 6–12 September 2013national; 1220 adults32%22%21%8%17%
Paradigma [16] 16–24 September 2013national; 2400 adults28.7%20.6%19.1%3.7%0.9%27.0%
TecniMerk [17] 28 September – 5 October 2013national; 2500 adults28.5%28.2%14.8%9.6%
Cid/Gallup [18] 9–15 October 2013national; 1525 adults35%19%22%6%18%
Paradigma [19] 10–19 October 2013national; 4025 adults30.0%20.0%18.0%3.2%0.5%28.3%

Conduct

Honduran elections have historically been marred by fraud, [20] [21] [22] and polls leading up to the elections found that 59% of Hondurans believe the elections will be fraudulent. [23] However, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has stated that these will be the most clean and fair elections in Honduras's history, and both the traditionally dominant parties – the National and Liberal parties – agree. [24] The newly formed Libre Party and Anti-Corruption Party fear that there will be fraud, a position backed by the Carter Center. [24] Anti-Corruption Party candidate Salvador Nasralla publicly denounced attempts at vote-buying by the National Party across the country. [25] Nasralla highlighted National Party control of key government institutions like the Public Ministry and the Supreme Court. [25] Dana Frank, writing in The Nation , echoed these concerns, noting National Party candidate Hernández's participation in both the illegal naming of a new attorney general in August 2013 and the illegal destitution of four Supreme Court judges in December 2012, [9] the latter of which ultimately resulted in Hernández securing his party's nomination for the presidency. [20]

The TSE has stated that over 700 international election observers, representing various governments and organizations, including the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the European Union, and the Carter Center, will be present to monitor the elections. [26] In the days before the election, international observers in the department of Yoro and in the capital Tegucigalpa reported targeted harassment and intimidation on the part of immigration officials and unidentified armed men. [27] [28] The TSE confirmed these reports and ordered the Honduran immigration authorities to stop all of these types of operations concerning election observers. [29]

Results

President

CandidatePartyVotes%
Juan Orlando Hernández National Party 1,149,30236.89
Xiomara Castro Liberty and Refoundation 896,49828.78
Mauricio Villeda Liberal Party 632,32020.30
Salvador Nasralla Anti-Corruption Party 418,44313.43
Romeo Vásquez Velásquez Patriotic Alliance 6,1050.20
Orle Solís Christian Democratic Party 5,1940.17
Jorge Aguilar Paredes Innovation and Unity Party 4,4680.14
Andrés Pavón FAPER–Democratic Unification 3,1180.10
Total3,115,448100
Valid votes3,115,44895.12
Invalid votes108,1713.30
Blank votes51,7271.58
Total votes3,275,346100
Registered voters/turnout5,355,11261.16
Source: TSE

National Congress

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
National Party 9,255,90433.6448–23
Liberty and Refoundation 7,568,39227.5137New
Liberal Party 4,670,15716.9727–18
Anti-Corruption Party 4,169,24515.1513New
Innovation and Unity Party 507,9581.851–2
Democratic Unification Party 460,8141.671–3
Christian Democratic Party 444,7341.621–4
Patriotic Alliance 272,3980.990New
FAPER–Democratic Unification Party 128,4880.470–
Independent Socialist candidates20,4290.070–
FAPER 9,0110.030New
United for Choluteca8,5420.030–
Total27,516,0721001280
Valid votes2,699,54485.98
Invalid votes155,0604.94
Blank votes285,0889.08
Total votes3,139,692100
Registered voters/turnout5,308,78159.14
Source: TSE
Popular vote
PNH
 
33.64%
LIBRE
 
27.51%
PLH
 
16.97%
PAC
 
15.15%
PINU
 
1.85%
PUD
 
1.67%
DC
 
1.62%
ALIANZA
 
0.99%
Others
 
0.60%
Parliament seats
PNH
 
37.50%
LIBRE
 
28.91%
PLH
 
21.09%
PAC
 
10.16%
PINU
 
0.78%
PUD
 
0.78%
DC
 
0.78%

Aftermath

Juan Orlando Hernández was announced as the winner in a result the Supreme Electoral Tribunal's head, David Matamoros, called "irreversible", [30] this followed initial claims by both leading candidates of having won. While opposition protests continued, Hernández said the result was "not negotiable with anybody" and named a transition team. [30]

However Castro and Nasralla have disputed the results, [31] and Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro accused the United States of "meddling in the internal affairs of Hondurans." [32] Castro called on her supporters to hold a protest on Saturday 30 November. [33]

According to the North American Congress on Latin America, "the elections have been fraught with irregularities and violent intimidation, threatening to throw the embattled nation into further political disarray." [34] However, observers from the Organization of American States and the United Nations declared that the elections met international standards and were both free and fair. [35]

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References

  1. ↑ Tribunal Supremo Electoral Honduras (9 April 2013). "Universidades de País Apoyaran al TSE para la Realización de las Elecciones Generales". http://www.tse.hn . Retrieved 16 April 2013.External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. ↑ Nina Lakhami (23 November 2013). "The fight to take power in Honduras". Al Jazeera . Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  3. ↑ Carlos Salinas (October 8, 2013). "Honduras rompe cien años de bipartidismo". El País . Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  4. 1 2 "Honduras: Elections should mark a turning point for human rights". Amnesty International. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  5. ↑ "Humanitarian national emergency". Radio Mundo Real. October 31, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  6. ↑ Karen Spring (October 21, 2013). "Context of the Honduran Electoral Process 2012: Incomplete list of Killings and Armed Attacks Related to Political Campaigning in Honduras" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  7. ↑ Lauren Carasik (November 3, 2013). "Honduras' political violence threatens to undermine its November elections". Al Jazeera America . Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  8. ↑ Javier Sánchez (May 24, 2013). "Histórico abanico de partidos". La Tribuna. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  9. 1 2 3 Dana Frank (November 6, 2013). "A High-Stakes Election in Honduras". The Nation . Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  10. ↑ "En Tocoa, Colón: Xiomara ofrece policía comunitaria y enviaría militares a cuidar fronteras". El Tiempo. August 4, 2013. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  11. ↑ "Ricardo Álvarez anuncia que presentará recurso". El Heraldo. December 11, 2012. Retrieved 2013-11-17. (Spanish)
  12. ↑ "Sala Constitucional declara inadmisible conteo voto por voto". El Heraldo. January 24, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  13. ↑ Annie Bird (January 8, 2013). "December 12, 2012 "Coup" in Honduras: The Constitutional Court Dismissed as Primary Elections are Challenged". Rights Action. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  14. ↑ "Ricardo y Miguel confirman que no irán a Convención nacionalista". La Prensa. August 15, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17. (Spanish)
  15. 1 2 "Remonta Juan Orlando Hernández en intención de voto presidencial", La Prensa (in Spanish), 24 September 2013, retrieved 2013-11-16
  16. 1 2 "Intención de voto para presidente a nivel nacional – Encuestra Septiembre 2013", Paradigma Encuestadora (in Spanish), 29 September 2013, archived from the original on 3 December 2013, retrieved 2013-11-16
  17. 1 2 "Honduras: Xiomara Castro sigue encabezando encuestas", Kaos en la Red (in Spanish), 11 October 2013, archived from the original on 22 November 2013, retrieved 2013-11-22
  18. 1 2 "Honduras: Juan Orlando arriba 5 puntos según CID-Gallup", La Prensa (in Spanish), 24 October 2013, retrieved 2013-11-16
  19. 1 2 "Intención de voto para presidente a nivel nacional – Encuestra Octubre 2013", Paradigma Encuestadora (in Spanish), 21 October 2013, archived from the original on 3 December 2013, retrieved 2013-11-16
  20. 1 2 Gina Kawas (November 6, 2013). "El fantasma del fraude electoral en Honduras". Panam Post. Retrieved 2013-11-17. (Spanish)
  21. ↑ Orlin Cruz Martínez (October 4, 2013). "A Propósito de Fraude Electoral". El Tiempo. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17. (Spanish)
  22. ↑ Parvez Jabri (October 19, 2013). "US lawmakers warn Kerry of Honduras vote problems". Business Recorder . Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  23. ↑ "Survey shows Honduran citizens expect electoral fraud, and are dissatisfied with democracy". Resistencia Honduras. September 27, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-16.
  24. 1 2 Gustavo Veiga (November 4, 2013). "Honduras irá a las urnas marcada por el golpe". Página 12. Retrieved 2013-11-16. (Spanish)
  25. 1 2 ""Partido Nacional ya compró credenciales": Nasralla". La Prensa. August 19, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17. (Spanish)
  26. ↑ "Unos 700 observadores internacionales vigilarán las elecciones en Honduras". El Mundo. November 9, 2013. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
  27. ↑ "Honduras: Detienen a Delegación Internacional de Observación de DDHH". Diario Uchile. November 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-23. (Spanish)
  28. ↑ "Hombres armados amedrentan a acompañantes electorales de Honduras". teleSUR. November 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-23. (Spanish)
  29. ↑ "Ordenan a Migración detener operativo". El Heraldo. November 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-23. (Spanish)
  30. 1 2 "Hernandez lead 'irreversible' in Honduras". Al Jazeera. November 26, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-26.
  31. ↑ "Tension increases in Honduras, as election sparks competing claims of victory, fraud". The Washington Post. November 25, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  32. ↑ "Venezuela's Maduro Rejects US "Intervention" in Honduras". Venezuelanalysis.com. November 26, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  33. ↑ "Winner named in Honduras presidential vote; opposition vows protests". CNN. November 27, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  34. ↑ "Honduran Election Results Contested by International Observers". North American Congress on Latin America. November 28, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  35. ↑ "BBC News". BBC. Retrieved 7 December 2013.

See also

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