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Honduras Presidential election Faces Contentious Finish Amidst Claims of Irregularities
The Honduran electoral authority is preparing to declare a winner in last month’s presidential election, a process fraught with a razor-thin vote margin, outstanding challenges, and deepening internal divisions within the National Electoral Council (CNE).
The election has been especially close, with Nasry Asfura, of the National Party (PN) – and endorsed by former U.S. President Donald Trump – currently leading with a less than one-percentage-point advantage over Salvador Nasralla, a television presenter representing the Liberal Party and formerly the vice president under current head of state Xiomara Castro.
As of Tuesday, the CNE reported that scrutiny had reached 99.2% of the recorded minutes. Based on this data, a plenary session of the organization approved a report proposing to declare a winner “with the data that is currently available.” The resolution garnered support from two of the three councilors comprising the CNE.
While the exact date of the official proclamation remains unspecified, the National Party has indicated a potential finalization of the proclamation as early as Wednesday. The CNE operates under a legal deadline of December 30th to declare the new president.Together, the agency is addressing approximately 600 minutes flagged for inconsistencies.
The approved resolution also dismissed several challenges, a move intended to clear the path for the formal designation of a winner. Though, this decision has been met with strong opposition from Asfura’s primary rival. Salvador Nasralla vehemently rejected the decision, demanding a more comprehensive review of the vote count.
“I do not accept the declaration (…), they are preventing the counting vote by vote,” Nasralla stated in a video posted Tuesday on his social media channels. He alleges persistent irregularities in thousands of minutes and is calling for a complete recount before any official proclamation is made.
The CNE is currently grappling with internal divisions, attributed to the increasing politicization of the organization. The country’s three main parties share positions within both the national Electoral Council and the electoral court,a structure that demonstrably influences decision-making and the overall process dynamics. This fracture became apparent during the vote on the aforementioned report.
Counselor Marlon Ochoa, representing the ruling party, refused to vote on the resolution and publicly voiced his disapproval. “I should not and cannot participate in an illegal act as I would become an accomplice (…). Here an electoral coup d’état will be consummated,” Ochoa declared following the plenary session.
Ochoa contends that the organization still needs to resolve 288 outstanding challenges, annulments, and claims submitted during the electoral process. He argues that proceeding with a proclamation without addressing these concerns violates the guarantees of scrutiny and the parties’ right to review the results.
Adding to the escalating tensions, a senior official presented a complaint Tuesday night to the Prosecutor’s Office – an institution perceived as being close to the government – requesting an investigation into alleged electoral crimes related to the process and the handling of challenges.
in an effort to maintain transparency, the president of the Honduran electoral body has requested that national and international observers remain vigilant in the lead-up to the new president’s statement,
