Honduras’ special election recount still paralyzed amid protests

By Laura Garcia

TEGUCIGALPA, Dec 17 (Reuters) – A special manual recount of some votes in Honduras’ presidential election was still not underway on Wednesday amid protests that prevented electoral staff from working and calls by the ruling party for a review of every single vote.

The special recount, which could flip the result shown by the machine count from the November 30 election, had been set to begin late last week after nearly two weeks of delays and disruptions. 

The chaotic vote-tallying process has sparked tensions and political clashes.

Members of the CNE electoral authority have said workers are ready to begin a revision by hand of some 15% of the tally sheets – representing hundreds of thousands of ballots – that are said to have “inconsistencies.”

With nearly 100% of the tally sheets processed in the regular count by Wednesday, opposition National Party candidate Nasry Asfura maintained the lead with more than 43,000 votes over centrist Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla. Asfura, the 67-year-old former mayor of Tegucigalpa, has been publicly endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump. 

Trailing far behind in third place was Rixi Moncada of the ruling leftist LIBRE party.

The tally sheets to be reviewed in the special hand count could easily flip the result standings of the two frontrunners, Asfura and Nasralla.

The ruling LIBRE party and Nasralla are demanding a full vote recount, claiming, without presenting evidence, that fraud has taken place in the vote count.

LIBRE PROTESTERS

Election officials have blamed the stalled special recount on protesters from LIBRE blocking the building where they work. 

“Our officials cannot enter to perform their duties and the staff sent to do the special scrutiny (personnel from the political parties) refuse to do their job and it overwhelms the CNE,” CNE President Ana Paola Hall said on Tuesday night.

In a document addressed to the other two CNE officials, Hall said electoral law only permits “special reviews and recounts when there are objective and specific grounds.” There is no “legal basis” for granting a full recount without concrete evidence of irregularities, she added. 

Just over 2,792 tally sheets show inconsistencies, according to officials. These sheets could contain hundreds of thousands of votes, more than enough to change the current trend, prolonging uncertainty over the final result. 

The results remain preliminary until the review is complete, and the CNE has until December 30 to declare the winner, who will take office at the end of January for the 2026-2030 term, replacing current President Xiomara Castro.

“The CNE has to provide the facilities and create the necessary conditions, and it has done so. The delay is not the CNE’s responsibility. At this point, the delay is the fault of the political parties,” said political analyst Henry Salinas.

On Wednesday afternoon, LIBRE called on its supporters to gather at the presidential palace to protest what they call an “electoral coup” and “interference” by Trump, who conditioned Washington’s support for the country on Asfura’s victory.

None of the major international observers, including the European Union and the Organization of American States (OAS), have expressed concern about systematic fraud. 

(Reporting by Laura GarciaWriting by Cassandra GarrisonEditing by Diego Ore and Frances Kerry)