TEGUCIGALPA: Electoral authorities in Honduras seemed poised to hand the president a second term on Monday even after tens of thousands took to the streets in the biggest protests yet over suspected vote count fraud since last week's disputed election.

US-backed President Juan Orlando Hernandez called for his supporters to wait for a final count as protesters from the opposition flooded streets across the country to decry what they called a dictatorship.

As night fell Sunday, the sound of plastic horns, honking cars, fireworks and beaten saucepans echoed over the capital Tegucigalpa, challenging a military curfew imposed to clamp down on protests that have spread since last week.

TV star turned opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla, addressing a giant rally in the capital earlier in the day, called on the armed forces to rebel against orders to enforce the curfew, and encouraged supporters to walk out on a national strike starting Monday.

"I call on all members of the armed forces to rebel against your bosses," Nasralla told a cheering throng of supporters who booed nearby troops. "You all over there, you shouldn't be there, you should be part of the people."

Nasralla accuses the government of trying to steal last week's election. TV images showed similar protests in other major cities.

While there were no reports of violence during Sunday's demonstrations, hundreds have been arrested and at least three people killed in recent days.

The government imposed a military-enforced curfew on Friday that expanded powers for the army and police to detain people and break up blockades of roads, bridges and public buildings.

Early last week, Nasralla, a former sportscaster and game show host, appeared to have pulled off an upset victory over Hernandez, gaining a five point lead with nearly two-thirds of the vote tallied.

After an unexplained pause of more than a day, the sporadic vote count started leaning in favor of the incumbent.

"It was a gigantic change," said Mark Weisbrot from the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. "The chances of this occurring, had the first 57 percent been drawn as a random sample of tally sheets, is next to impossible."

Reuters