Three days after Honduras's presidential elections, the vote count stands at 79% with a technical tie between candidates. Salvador Nasralla leads with 40.3% against Nasry Asfura's 39.6%. Technical issues, logistical challenges, and questions over the electoral body's impartiality account for the delays.
Honduras's general elections, held on Sunday, November 30, have sparked uncertainty over the delay in announcing presidential results. With over 19,000 electoral actas to scrutinize, the process reached 79% on Wednesday, December 3, showing a slim lead for Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, backed by right-wing sectors, over Nasry Asfura of the National Party, supported by U.S. President Donald Trump.
A key hurdle has been technical glitches in the system run by Colombian firm ASD, hired by the National Electoral Council (CNE) to transmit data and release results. On Monday, December 1, issues forced a suspension of the preliminary count during the early hours, resuming at noon on Tuesday, December 2, after Trump's demands and threats of 'grave consequences' if the initial outcome favoring his candidate was changed. ASD blamed the 'high volume' of records, with about 6.5 million eligible voters. That Wednesday, the platform went into unscheduled 'maintenance,' prompting CNE complaints. A special scrutiny then began for actas with inconsistencies, as a single vote difference can declare a winner in Honduras.
Logistical issues compound this due to the absence of automated voting. The CNE takes up to ten days to distribute and retrieve materials from Tegucigalpa to the 18 departments, particularly in remote areas like the Mosquitia, reachable only by air, sea, mule, or canoe. Former CNE president Augusto Aguilar told AFP that slow counts are 'normal,' but the halt in digital result disclosure worsens matters given the tight margin, warranting detailed reviews of actas held by parties.
Doubts also linger over the CNE's impartiality, composed of five officials appointed by major parties. An internal dispute delayed the electoral calendar amid fraud allegations: a left-leaning official counselor accused an opposition colleague of plotting to favor the right, claiming supporting audios were AI-generated.