Honduras’ presidential election occurred on November 30, but nearly three weeks later, there is still no clear winner. The elections have faced issues with the vote counting process, allegations of fraud, and U. S. involvement. Conservative candidate Nasry Asfura of the National Party leads center-right candidate Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party by about 43,000 votes, although many votes remain uncounted due to tally sheet inconsistencies. The National Electoral Council has begun a manual count of the outstanding votes.
Protests have arisen, mainly from supporters of the ruling leftist LIBRE party, who claim the election has been affected by fraud and are demanding a full manual recount of the ballots. Some protests have disrupted the manual counting process, causing delays. LIBRE party candidate Rixi Moncada is currently in third place, and Nasralla has also called for a recount. The electoral council has stated that a recount is unnecessary due to a lack of solid evidence of irregularities.
While election day proceeded smoothly, issues with the vote count arose later due to software maintenance delays. Observers, including the European Union and the Organization of American States, have criticized the slow counting but have not accused the process of systemic fraud. The electoral council has until December 30 to certify the election, needing agreement from at least two of three representatives to proceed. Failure to certify could extend President Xiomara Castro’s term by two years. U. S. involvement, including President Trump’s support for Asfura, has raised concerns of interference. The U. S. has called for a swift end to the counting and results announcement.
With information from Reuters
