Honduras resumes its election count amid fraud claims, with the ruling party demanding annulment and accusing US President Trump of interference
TEGUCIGALPA: Honduras resumed counting ballots from its November 30 general election on Monday.
The ruling Libre party has demanded the vote’s total annulment and accused US President Donald Trump of election interference.
The count had been paused late Friday due to what officials called technical problems with recording votes.
When it stopped, National Party candidate Nasry Asfura held a narrow lead over Liberal Party rival Salvador Nasralla.
Both right-wing candidates were far ahead of the ruling party’s candidate, Rixi Moncada, who was polling third.
National Electoral Council president Ana Paola Hall stated the data was now being updated after technical actions and external auditing.
The slow count has processed about 90% of votes amid widespread fraud accusations from contenders.
Nasralla claimed “the corrupt ones are the ones holding up the counting process.”
The Libre party called for mobilisations, protests, and strikes while urging officials not to cooperate with any government transition.
It also announced an “Extraordinary Assembly of National Dignity” for December 13, though incumbent President Xiomara Castro has not commented.
The electoral council has until December 30 to declare a winner under Honduran law.
In the days before the election, Trump pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a US drug-trafficking sentence.
Trump also declared clear support for Asfura, calling him a “friend of freedom” and accusing Nasralla of pretending to be anti-communist.
The Libre party condemned this in its call to scrap the election results.
“We condemn the interference and coercion of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in the elections in Honduras,” the party stated. – AFP
