Honduras opposition leader pulls ahead in election results

Honduras opposition leader pulls ahead in election results
By Philip Andrew Churm
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Initial results in the Honduran presidential election show Salvador Nasralla, a former sportscaster, with the lead.

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Opposition coalition leader Salvador Nasralla has taken the lead in Honduras' presidential elections according to initial results. The incumbent, President Juan Orlando Hernandez, had earlier claimed victory over his main rival.

Hernandez was expected to benefit from a Supreme Court ruling in 2015 that overturned a previous ban on holding a second term.

The initial results put Nasralla, a former sportscaster who leads the broad left-right coalition, the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship, ahead by five percentage points. 

But former President Manuel Zelaya was especially angry about the Supreme Court ruling. He was forced into exile by the army eight years ago when he suggested having a referendum on a constitutional change to allow second term presidencies.

Hernandez has campaigned on his success at lowering the murder rate in Honduras. Nasralla has pledged to end many years of poverty, violence and corruption.

Six million voters will also be electing members of congress and mayors.

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