Honduran security forces fanned out on Saturday to enforce a curfew as sporadic demonstrations continued over a contested presidential election that triggered violent protests that have killed at least three people.
Hundreds have been arrested after the tally from last Sunday's presidential race stalled without a clear winner. Opposition leaders accused the government of trying to steal the election
TV star Salvador Nasralla on Saturday accused his rival, President Juan Orlando Hernandez, of carrying out a "coup" by manipulating the vote count and declaring the curfew to stifle protests.
International concern has grown about the electoral crisis in the poor Central American country, which struggles with violent drug gangs and one of the world's highest murder rates.
Lines formed at supermarkets and early Saturday as people stocked up on supplies, but upscale malls and many shops were shuttered while others closed early as groups of workers waited to catch buses and get back to their homes before the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew took effect.
"I'm afraid I'm going to get arrested by the army and be stuck in jail overnight or hit a blockade in the streets," said Daniel Solorzono, 27, as he heaved eggs, bananas and sausage into his pick-up truck at a market and rushed off to his home.
Nasralla's early five percentage point lead on Monday was later reversed, after a pause of more than a day in the count, in favor of Hernandez, leading to accusations of vote fraud and calls for protests. Disputed votes could swing the outcome.
Under the official count, Hernandez had 42.9 per cent of the vote while Nasralla has 41.4 per cent, with 95 per cent of votes tallied.
Electoral authorities have proposed recounting around 6 percent of the vote, but Nasralla's party has demanded a wider recount, forcing a stand-off with the ruling party and election authorities.
One man was killed in the port city of La Ceiba on Friday and a 19-year old woman was shot in the head early Saturday in Tegucigalpa as soldiers busted up protesters' blockades of rubble and burning tires that had snarled traffic in the capital and major ports, a spokesman for the national police said.
On Friday, police had reported another protester was killed in La Ceiba.
There were also reports from opposition leaders and a police source that between four and five demonstrators had been shot dead in the north of the country.
