News
General elections were held in Honduras on 26 November 2017, the first since the Supreme Court of Justice decided to permit the reelection of the president, despite this being against the constitution.
Early election results showed a significant lead by Salvador Nasralla, the candidate for the Alliance Against the Dictatorship. However, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the TSE, dominated by magistrates who are loyal to the actual President Hernandez, announced vote totals after many days and notable irregularities that gave the lead to President Hernandez.
The country erupted into daily demonstrations.
Photographer Sean Hawkey produced a video that shows the reality on the streets facing the people of Honduras:
The Organization of American States (OAS) monitored the elections found systemic irregularities before, during and after the elections. OAS general secretary questioned the validity of the elections and called for new elections.
Twenty-one days after the elections, Hernandez was declared winner by the TSE. The United States has recognized the elections, but other countries have been critical.
Honduras has a new penal code that classifies protestors as terrorists. Protestors have been arrested in the street and in house-to-house searches. Many believe that human rights violations today are as serious as in the 1980s. Some known human rights abusers from the 80s have been given senior positions with the state security services.
Human rights groups in Honduras have classified more than 30 killings as political assassinations carried out by security services since the elections. According to the Committee of Relatives of the Disappeared in Honduras, more than 1,000 people have been illegally detained. The protests and the repression continue.
The role of the churches and ecumenical organizations
On 2 December, Bishop Lloyd Emmanuel Allen, from the Anglican Church of Honduras, issued an open letter to the government and the people of the country calling for justice and peace.
“We call you to be prudent, to act with moderation, to take a non-violent attitude towards the other, remembering that we are all Hondurans, but above all that we are brothers and sisters that God sent to live together in this beautiful Catracha land”, wrote the Bishop.
To the international organizations that have overseen and safeguarded the electoral scrutiny, the Honduran church leader asked, “to keep objective criteria and to discourage any conduct that could jeopardize the integrity of the process”, he wrote.
The World Council of Churches (WCC), together with its ecumenical partners on the ground in Honduras, particularly members of the ACT Alliance, shared the concerns of the OAS about democratic rights and calls for the protection of human rights in Honduras and for the full investigation of abuses committed.
ACT Alliance general secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria has recently called upon the Honduran institutions to guarantee human rights and democracy.
Members of ACT Alliance in the country work on humanitarian response in disasters, and are currently supporting people affected by floods in the north.
The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has a programme in the Central American region, including Honduras, on Climate Change and Risk Management. The programme focus is on reducing vulnerability, and on adaptation, helping vulnerable communities adapt to the realities of climate change.
In southern Honduras, where farmers haven’t had a harvest for several years, LWF works on rainwater harvesting, on improving farming techniques in arid areas, on using drought-resistant varieties of crops, and on advocacy, looking at the root causes of climate change.
Honduras is particularly vulnerable to climate change and member organizations working in the country have programmes on adaptation, risk management and emergency response, as well as advocacy.
WCC member churches in Latin America
