Honduran electoral website shows president 1.59 pct points ahead

TEGUCIGALPA - 4 December 2017: Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez held a lead over his main opposition rival after a partial recount of a disputed Nov. 26 presidential vote that has sparked a political crisis, the website of the electoral tribunal showed Monday.

Hernandez had 42.98 percent of the vote, while TV star Salvador Nasralla had 41.39 percent, with 99.96 percent of votes tallied, according to the tribunal's website.

The head of the tribunal, David Matamoros, has yet to declare an outright winner, telling reporters that parties could still file legal challenges and that the tribunal could still consider a wider recount.

He said there would be more announcements later on Monday.

Early last week, Nasralla, a former sportscaster and game show host, appeared set for an upset victory over Hernandez, gaining a five point lead with over half of the vote tallied.

After the count suddenly halted for more than a day, the sporadic vote count started leaning in favor of the incumbent.