Hondurans went to the polls amid tight security Sunday to pick a new president for their Central American nation, the world's deadliest and among the region's poorest. The election pits Xiomara Castro, leftist wife of ousted former leader Manuel Zelaya, against conservative Juan Orlando Hernandez.
As the around 5,400 polling stations opened at 7:00 am (1300 GMT) with a ceremony at a school in the capital Tegucigalpa, electoral tribunal chief David Matamoros expressed hope the vote would "heal the wounds" of the 2009 coup d'etat that toppled Zelaya.
He also urged the 5.4 million voters to carry out their electoral duty with "faith, dignity and civility." The candidates are vying to succeed President Porfirio Lobo, who was elected after the coup in a controversial election boycotted by Zelaya's leftist allies.
The heavily guarded polling stations, to which some 800 foreign election monitors were dispatched, closed at 5:00 pm (2300 GMT) after a one-hour extension was agreed, Matamoros said. About 25,000 police and military officers stood watch over busy proceedings. Castro, with the Libre Party, could become the first female president of Honduras.