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Honduran President to Seek a Second Term; Opposition Cries Foul


FILE - Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez addresses an audience in Tegucigalpa, July 16, 2014.
FILE - Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez addresses an audience in Tegucigalpa, July 16, 2014.

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Wednesday said he would seek reelection next year, despite warnings from the opposition that his plans violate the constitution of the violent Central American nation.

The Supreme Court paved the way for Hernandez by issuing a ruling last year that overturned an explicit constitutional ban on presidential reelection, after the 2009 ouster of former leftist President Manuel Zelaya who sought a referendum on the issue.

FILE - A demonstrator holds up a scarf during a march to demand the resignation of Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernandez in Tegucigalpa, Sept. 11, 2015.
FILE - A demonstrator holds up a scarf during a march to demand the resignation of Honduras' President Juan Orlando Hernandez in Tegucigalpa, Sept. 11, 2015.

The president, who gained popularity by cutting the murder rate through his aggressive fight against drug trafficking and gangs, said he would only seek one more term, from 2018-2021.

Hernandez, a conservative lawyer who took office in 2014, is the favorite to win his National Party primaries in March.

Opposition politicians slammed the decision, saying the judicial ruling was unconstitutional and violates the Democratic principle of alternating leaders in power.

"This is the same situation as in 2009. Reelection is illegal in Honduras and puts us on the path to a crisis," said Romeo Vasquez, the retired general who led the coup against Zelaya and who now heads a small opposition party.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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