Chavist candidate Xiomara Castro seemed on track Monday morning to become the first female president of Honduras after 38.94% of the votes had been counted. Castro, a former first lady whose husband Manuel Zelaya was ousted by a coup in 2009, had obtained 53.44% of the votes, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE), after Sunday's elections.
Both leading presidential candidates in crime-wracked Honduras declared victory late Sunday, setting the stage for a possible round of street protests and violence in one the world's deadliest countries. With more than half the votes counted, conservative Juan Orlando Hernandez was ahead with 34% against 29% for populist Xiomara Castro.
Four years after her husband was ousted in a coup, Honduran populist presidential candidate Xiomara Castro is threatening to break the century-old dominance of right-wing parties in Sunday's elections.