Honduran President Accuses Trump of Election Interference, Ruling Party Seeks Results Annulled

Honduran President Xiomara Castro criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for threatening voters and attempting to influence the country's presidential election held on November 30. The comment was made in a public statement on December 10. ​

Failures in the official vote-counting system have delayed announcement of the election results, fueling public frustration andprompting some political parties to contemplate contesting the election's validity over concerns of fairness.

According to the latest statistics from the Honduran National Electoral Council, conservative candidate Nasry Asfura, endorsed by Trump, is leading with 40.53%, while right-wing candidate Salvador Nasralla follows closely with 39.16%. Ruling party candidate Rixi Moncada is currently in third place.

During a recent speech in the central region, President Castro highlighted that this election has been plagued by various external "threats and coercions." Her dissatisfaction is primarily directed at Trump for publicly threatening Honduran voters with serious consequences if they supported the ruling party candidate and her successor, Moncada. （Related： Trump Overturns Biden's Student Loan Plan, Criticized as Illegal ｜ Latest ）

Trump also issued an executive pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who had earlier beensentenced to a 45-year term for drug trafficking and money laundering during the Biden administration.

The election also faced numerous internal issues, particularly with the official vote-counting system, which has experienced multiple failures since the vote took place, causing significant delays.

This has led Nasralla, who had several of his votes reversed, to claim that he is the rightful leader and that the election is rife with deception and "theft."Having served as vice president, he demanded a "vote-by-vote recount" from the electoral council, emphasizing the discovery of numerous voting records not utilizing biometric systems and allegedly filled out by unknown individuals as blank ballots.

The country's third-largest ruling party, Liberty and Refoundation, has further declared the election invalid and is urging Congress or the courts to nullify the results, threatening widespread protests and strikes to halt the transition process amid shared concerns over electoral fairness. （Related： Trump Overturns Biden's Student Loan Plan, Criticized as Illegal ｜ Latest ）

The Central Electoral Council acknowledged discrepancies in several thousand ballots requiring further verification. However, time is limited as the final official results must be delivered by December 30, according to national law.