JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ, Hondu-ras's president, boasts that he has brought stability and security, but his run for re-election has caused turmoil. As The Economist went to press on November 30th it was unclear who had won the election held four days before. After Mr Hernandez's rival, Salvador Nasralla, posted an early lead, vote-counting slowed to a crawl and the incumbent closed the gap. With 89% of the vote counted, Mr Hernandez led by 0.8 percentage points. If the electoral tribunal (TSE) proclaims him the winner, that will not settle the matter. Mr Nasralla told The Economist there will be protests. The tension evokes the mood after a coup in 2009 against then-president Manuel Zelaya, after he tried to scrap presidential term limits. He now backs Mr Nasralla. University classes have been cancelled, probably to keep Mr Nas-ralla's young supporters at home. On the night of November 29th police fired tear gas at rock-throwing protesters near a building where ballots were stored, and it was evacuated; the TSE suspended counting after it said its system had crashed.
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