Honduras president seeks 2nd term despite constitutional ban
Juan Orlando Hernandez
Now  Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez  appears likely to win a second term on Sunday as well as bolstering the strength of  his  conservative National Party across the board.
" Hernandez  is not just trying to win presidential re-election   he 's trying to expand  his  power from top to bottom  including in the legislature and at the mayoral level " said James Bosworth  the founder of Hxagon  a consulting firm that does predictive analysis in emerging markets.
Fears of just that sort of consolidation â but by left-wing rivals â led  Hernandez 's own party to back a military coup in 2009 against a president it accused of plotting to violate Honduras's seemingly iron-clad constitutional ban on re-election.
The country's highest court backed the 2009 ouster of Manuel Zelaya. But the current court â packed with  Hernandez ' supporters â ruled in 2015 that the constitution could not prevent  him  from running again â outraging opposition leaders.
And corruption remains a major problem for Honduras  casting a shadow across  Hernandez 's administration.
And in September  the son of a former president from  Hernandez 's party  Porfirio Lobo was sentenced in New York to 24 years in prison after revealing his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Fabio Lobo  46  pleaded guilty in May 2016  admitting he worked with drug traffickers and Honduran police to ship cocaine into the United States.
Now   [TGT] appears likely to win a second term on Sunday as well as bolstering the strength of   [TGT]   conservative National Party across the board.
" Hernandez  is not just trying to win presidential re-election   he 's trying to expand  his  power from top to bottom  including in the legislature and at the mayoral level " said James Bosworth  the founder of Hxagon  a consulting firm that does predictive analysis in emerging markets.
Fears of just that sort of consolidation â but by left-wing rivals â led  Hernandez 's own party to back a military coup in 2009 against a president it accused of plotting to violate Honduras's seemingly iron-clad constitutional ban on re-election.
The country's highest court backed the 2009 ouster of Manuel Zelaya. But the current court â packed with  Hernandez ' supporters â ruled in 2015 that the constitution could not prevent  him  from running again â outraging opposition leaders.
And corruption remains a major problem for Honduras  casting a shadow across  Hernandez 's administration.
And in September  the son of a former president from  Hernandez 's party  Porfirio Lobo was sentenced in New York to 24 years in prison after revealing his role in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy. Fabio Lobo  46  pleaded guilty in May 2016  admitting he worked with drug traffickers and Honduran police to ship cocaine into the United States.