Honduras pledges accurate vote count under pressure from Trump

Honduras' electoral authority assured on Tuesday that the final results of the weekend presidential election will faithfully reflect the choice of the people. This commitment comes after U.S. President Donald Trump accused the officials of attempting to manipulate the November 30 vote, favoring businessman Nasry Asfura, 67, whom Trump publicly supports.

Trump had previously endorsed Asfura before official results were available, and on Monday he claimed on social media without evidence that the election might be rigged. The National Electoral Council (CNE) urged the public to remain patient as it completes the vote tally in one of Latin Americas most impoverished and violent nations.

Preliminary electronic counts indicated a narrow lead for Asfura over his 72-year-old rival Salvador Nasralla, with just 515 votes separating them. The CNE described this as a "technical tie," which triggered Trumps warnings. On Tuesday, the council reported technical difficulties with the vote results portal and requested an urgent full report to resolve the issues.

The CNE confirmed that it is allowing media and political parties to monitor the vote processing in real time and promised to release the final results within the legally mandated one-month period, ensuring that the declared outcome accurately represents the voters will.

Despite Trumps support for Asfura, Nasralla expressed confidence that he would win, citing preliminary figures that put him ahead. He emphasized that no official winner has been declared yet, and that the current results are only projections.

The election signals a shift to the right, representing a setback for the leftist government and potentially increasing U.S. influence in a country that had recently sought closer ties with China. Trump's involvement included his pardon of former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who faced a lengthy U.S. prison sentence for drug trafficking. Hernandez's release occurred despite Trumps previous statements on combating Latin American drug trade.

Some Hondurans welcomed U.S. intervention, hoping it may ease restrictions on migration. Many have fled the country due to poverty and gang violence, but stricter U.S. immigration policies have made leaving more difficult, affecting nearly 30,000 Hondurans deported since January. Remittances remain a critical part of the Honduran economy, contributing 27% of GDP last year.

Author: Jackson Miller