Tegucigalpa, December 1, 2025 – Total News Agency-TNA- With 41.28% of the votes counted, conservative Nasry Asfura leads with 40.08%, followed by Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party with 39%. In third place is the official candidate, Rixi Moncada, of the Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre), who is significantly behind the two leaders of the race. As the night progresses and the information vacuum lingers, concern is growing in the international community, especially in the United States, which welcomed the high voter turnout but avoided commenting on the delays from the Supreme Electoral Council (CNE). The candidate who obtains a simple majority will govern from 2026 to 2030. Amid one of the most contested elections in recent years, Honduras is hours of growing uncertainty due to the lack of official updates from the Supreme Electoral Council (CNE), which has not released new data since Sunday night despite public demands from conservative candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura, who leads the preliminary count. The tension has shifted to the vote-counting centers, where national and international observers await explanations that are not forthcoming. Party representatives warn that the delay does not correspond to the normalcy that characterized the daytime electoral process, in which about 2.8 million citizens out of an electorate of six million voted. For many, the delay is beginning to raise questions about the technical and operational solidity of the vote-counting system. Asfura, a politician of Palestinian origin with a brief stint in public office but with a strong regional structure, stated that both the official records and the internal data of the National Party place him in a comfortable position. “In 6,600 tallies we have a higher percentage, according to CNE data. In our data, the difference is even greater,” he told his followers, who awaited him expectantly as the results remain frozen. The nationalist candidate arrived at the contest strengthened by the explicit backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, who days before the election described him as “the only true friend of freedom in Honduras” and promised “much support” for the country if Asfura wins. This backing even included the announcement of a possible pardon for former President Juan Orlando Hernández, convicted of drug trafficking in the United States and still an influential figure within the National Party. Trump also tied his support to a joint commitment to confront the “narco-communists” and the regime of Nicolás Maduro. For Honduras, the outcome will define not only a political transition but also its strategic alignment in a regional scenario marked by ideological tensions, economic pressures, and growing external influence. For now, the country remains in suspense, awaiting the CNE to break its silence and restore confidence in an electoral process that, despite proceeding normally during the day, ended up shrouded in doubts and delays that cloud the legitimacy of the count. On the streets of Tegucigalpa, the mood is one of contained anticipation, with calls for calm from several parties and warnings about possible attempts at disinformation due to the lack of official figures. If his lead is ultimately confirmed, Asfura would signify the return of the National Party to power after the leftist administration of Xiomara Castro, who took office in 2022 with a social transformation and geopolitical realignment agenda. Frustrated by the body's inaction, he insisted: “Come out and do your duty. Please do it for the good of democracy.” In a harsh message, the candidate reminded that “Article 279 clearly states that the first count is at three hours and it should have been at 9:00 p.m.” “We cannot have a country waiting, on edge, in the dark,” he added. However, the request had no effect: the CNE has maintained its silence and the official platform has been inaccessible since election night. The latest available data, corresponding to 56% of the tallies counted, place Asfura in the lead, followed by Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, who remains confident that he will be able to reverse the trend when the results loading resumes.
