Honduran opposition challenges election results at deadline
Posted December 09, 2017 6:00 am
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - The challenger in Honduras' still unresolved presidential election has filed a challenge to the Nov. 26 contest that seeks to annul the results and requests a recount.
Salvador Nasralla, candidate of the opposition alliance, and his campaign team handed over the paperwork with just minutes to spare before a midnight deadline expired Friday.
Honduras' electoral court's original tally put President Juan Orlando Hernandez ahead by more than 52,000 votes or 1.6 percent. But in an electoral process plagued by problems that dragged on for days, both candidates declared themselves winner.
Nasralla says he doesn't expect their challenge to go anywhere, but sees it as a necessary step before he takes the case abroad to international authorities.
International observers had urged the opposition to challenge the election through existing channels.
A couple sells roast meat near where anti-government demonstrators gather to protest at the Hato neighborhood in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. International observers urged Honduras' opposition Friday to file a formal complaint about the country's troubled Nov. 26 election as the deadline fast approaches. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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Anti-government demonstrators burn a campaign poster of the National Party during a march through the Morazan street in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. International observers urged Honduras' opposition Friday to file a formal complaint about the country's troubled Nov. 26 election as the deadline fast approaches.(AP Photo/Fernando Antonio)
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Anti-government demonstrators shatter a campaign poster of the National Party with a portrait of Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez during a march at the Morazan street in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. International observers urged Honduras' opposition Friday to file a formal complaint about the country's troubled Nov. 26 election as the deadline fast approaches.(AP Photo/Fernando Antonio)
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Soldiers stand guard at a check point near the Electoral Court during an anti-government demonstrator in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. International observers urged Honduras' opposition Friday to file a formal complaint about the country's troubled Nov. 26 election as the deadline fast approaches. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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Anti-government demonstrators march in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. International observers urged Honduras' opposition Friday to file a formal complaint about the country's troubled Nov. 26 election as the deadline fast approaches. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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A musician plays an accordion marching during an Anti-government protest in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. International observers urged Honduras' opposition Friday to file a formal complaint about the country's troubled Nov. 26 election as the deadline fast approaches. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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An anti-government demonstrator sings Honduras' national anthem at the end of a march near to the Electoral Court in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. International observers urged Honduras' opposition Friday to file a formal complaint about the country's troubled Nov. 26 election as the deadline fast approaches. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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Anti-government demonstrators chant slogans against Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez as they gather to protest at the Hato neighborhood in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. International observers urged Honduras' opposition Friday to file a formal complaint about the country's troubled Nov. 26 election as the deadline fast approaches. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
The Associated Press
Anti-government demonstrators march through the Morazan street in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Friday, Dec. 8, 2017. International observers urged Honduras' opposition Friday to file a formal complaint about the country's troubled Nov. 26 election as the deadline fast approaches.(AP Photo/Fernando Antonio)
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