The Honduran presidential election remains exceptionally close as vote counting extends into its fourth day, marked by technical failures and heightened international attention. With approximately 84% of ballots processed, conservative candidate Nasry Asfura holds a razor-thin lead of just 0.3 percentage points over centrist challenger Salvador Nasralla.
The electoral process has been plagued by repeated technical outages that electoral authorities have deemed ‘inexcusable.’ On Wednesday, counting operations halted for several hours when the private contractor responsible for tabulation conducted unscheduled maintenance without consulting the National Electoral Council (CNE). This followed Tuesday’s crash of the real-time results portal, further delaying the process and intensifying political tensions.
CNE President Ana Paola Hall expressed frustration with the technical contractor’s performance while urging public patience. Security has been reinforced around the Tegucigalpa hotel serving as the vote-counting center, with police maintaining a visible presence.
The election has drawn significant international attention, particularly from the United States. President Donald Trump has openly endorsed Asfura, threatening to cut off aid to Honduras if the conservative candidate isn’t elected. Trump has additionally alleged, without presenting evidence, that electoral authorities were ‘trying to change’ the outcome when preliminary results briefly showed Nasralla leading by approximately 500 votes on Monday.
Both candidates maintain confidence in their eventual victory, citing internal party projections. The election’s outcome remains uncertain as technical challenges continue to slow the final count.