Honduras elects new president

Both leading candidates declared victory following Honduras’ presidential election on Sunday, but as of Tuesday morning it seemed that Juan Orlando Hernández of the conservative incumbent National Party is the victor. According to Honduras’ Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Hernández had won 34 percent of votes as compared to second-place runner-up Xiomara Castro de Zelaya’s 29 percent. Hernández, the former president of congress, had been the “market choice” for candidate, widely expected to continue the government’s policies, and likely to maintain fiscal discipline, especially ahead of a predicted IMF accord. Hernández’s victory will allay fears of turn to the left for the country if theFreedom and Reestablishment Party’s (LIBRE)   Xiomara Castro de Zelaya had won; Castro is the wife of former left-wing president Manuel Zelaya who was deposed in a coup in 2009. However, Castro’s refusal to concede defeat may lead to some short-term uncertainty.