Honduras President sworn in amid protests

Jan. 27 (UPI) -- On the heels of a disputed election and protests that led to 30 deaths, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was sworn in Saturday for a second term.

During a ceremony, held in the capital city of Tegucigalpa, large crowds clashed with security forces who fired tear gas at the protesters. Among the thousands of demonstrators was opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla, who refused to accept the election results citing electoral fraud.

While Hernandez spoke to supporters and vowed to create jobs, fight corruption and tackle violent crime, military and national police were blocks away curtailing opposition supporters who were shouting "Out with JOH," the chant that became the rallying cry since the group alleged fraud after the November election.

Nasralla has said the election was plagued with fraud and corruption, declaring that he won the polls and would be willing to repeat them.

Honduras' Supreme Electoral Tribunal, or TSE, declared Hernandez the official winner of the election with 42.95 percent of the votes versus Nasralla's 41.42 percent on Dec. 17.

The Opposition Alliance presented 12 "irregularities" that occurred during and after the polling process, but the TSE said the appeal didn't establish grounds to nullify the election.