President Donald Trump's administration on Friday recognized the results of Honduras' disputed presidential election despite opposition complaints, irregularities found by poll observers and calls from Congress to back a new vote.
The State Department congratulated Juan Orlando Hernandez on his victory in last month's election but urged the country's electoral commission to fully review any challenges to the results. In a statement, spokesman Heather Nauert also urged all sides to refrain from violence in the unrest that has claimed at least 17 lives.
Hernandez was declared the winner but opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla claimed fraud and went to Washington earlier this week to seek backing from the U.S. and the Organization of American States. Election observers from the organization and European Union had found irregularities that called the result into question.
"The close election results, irregularities identified by the [Organization of American States] and the EU election observation missions, and strong reactions from Hondurans across the political spectrum underscore the need for a robust national dialogue," Nauert said. "A significant long-term effort to heal the political divide in the country and enact much-needed electoral reforms should be undertaken."
"We call upon the [election tribunal] to transparently and fully review any challenges filed by political parties," she said. "We urge Honduran citizens or political parties challenging the result to use the avenues provided by Honduran law. We reiterate the call for all Hondurans to refrain from violence. The government must ensure Honduran security services respect the rights of peaceful protesters, including by ensuring accountability for any violations of those rights."
The first results reported by the electoral court after the Nov. 26 election showed Nasralla with a significant lead over Hernandez with nearly 60 percent of the vote counted. Public updates of the count mysteriously stopped for more than a day, and when they resumed, that lead steadily eroded and ultimately reversed in Hernandez's favor.
On Thursday, 20 Democratic legislators had asked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to support a repeat of the election, citing the irregularities found by observers. They asked Tillerson also to denounce what they consider "excessive use of force" by Honduran security officials handling the street protests that have taken place since.
A Section on 12/23/2017