Hondurans are heading to the ballot box for a presidential election and many expect the current US-friendly leader to win a divisive second term.
Juan Orlando Hernandez, of the centre-right National Party, has brought down a sky-high murder rate, raised economic growth and cut the deficit since he took office in 2014, proving himself to be a stable US ally.
But critics warn Hernandez is tightening his grip on power, using a pliant Supreme Court and electoral tribunal to clear a path for his re-election bid in what is one of the poorest, most violent countries in the Americas.
Polls suggest Hernandez, a savvy political operator who has benefited from a splintered opposition, will easily clinch a second term following a 2015 Supreme Court decision that overturned a constitutional ban on re-election. Voters will also elect 128 MPs.
Few in Tegucigalpa, the capital, seemed overly concerned that Hernandez, who in 2009 supported the ouster of former president Manuel Zelaya after he mooted a referendum on re-election, was consolidating power.
"Better the devil you know, than the devil you don't," said Ada Solorzano, a 57-year-old nurse. "During his time in office, he's fought the gangs and the drug traffickers, and he's improved the employment situation. We know he will continue the war on crime and that he plans to create more work."
Hernandez has promised to continue his militarised assault on the gangs, which have made Honduras one of the world's deadliest nations.
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