In Honduras, it was stated that the National Electoral Council «must carry out its work with freedom and transparency» so that the results of the elections can be made known. When it was expected that the special scrutiny could begin around 19:00 local time (23:00 GMT), councilor Hall, who chairs the CNE, denounced that new problems have prevented the process from starting, which should have begun on the 13th. «Could there be a better description of the kidnapping of institutions? In full view and with the patience of all of us, our freedom is diminished, our officials cannot enter to carry out their functions, and the personnel sent to carry out the special scrutiny (personnel from Political Parties) refuses to do their job and tramples on (runs over) the CNE,» Hall indicated on the social network X. According to the preliminary results of the CNE, Nasry 'Tito' Asfura, presidential candidate for the conservative National Party, who is supported by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, leads the vote with 40.54% of the ballots. He is followed by Salvador Nasralla, from the Liberal Party, also conservative, with 39.19%, while the candidate for the Freedom and Refoundation Party (Libre, left), Rixi Moncada, is relegated to third place with 19.29% of the votes, with 99.80% of the electoral ballots scrutinized. New accusations of pressure and blockades prevent the start of special scrutiny in Honduras. Another day has passed in Honduras without the results of the elections on November 30 being known, this time due to new accusations of pressure and blockades made by two councilors of the National Electoral Council (CNE): its president, Ana Paola, and Cossette López. The day began with the public complaint from the Honduran president, Xiomara Castro, that a «coup» is being plotted against her government and that former president Juan Orlando Hernández «is planning his entry into the country to proclaim the winner of the elections.» «To the Honduran people: I inform with historical responsibility that, based on verified intelligence information, Juan Orlando Hernández, pardoned in the United States, is planning his entry into the country to proclaim the winner of the elections while an aggression is underway aimed at breaking the constitutional and democratic order through a coup against my government,» Castro stated. Castro also ordered the commanders of the Armed Forces and the National Police to separate the security elements that on Monday night dissolved a demonstration by militants of the ruling Freedom and Refoundation Party (Libre, left), who were protesting in front of the National Training Institute (Infop), in Tegucigalpa, where all the election material is kept. Hundreds of police and military personnel guard the Infop facilities, where it was expected that a special scrutiny for the count of at least 2,792 electoral ballots with inconsistencies would begin today to enter the final phase of the process. The ordinance from Castro was fulfilled by the chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, Roosevelt Hernández, with the separation of a high-ranking officer. Later, the general coordinator of Libre, former president Manuel Zelaya, who is also Castro's husband and main advisor, said that she has confirmed to him that she will respect the «alternability» in power, and that the mobilizations in Tegucigalpa to which the president has called in the framework of the crisis will be «peaceful.» Hernández says Castro's accusation is «false» «Xiomara Castro is a proven democrat and has reaffirmed to us her absolute respect for alternability in the exercise of the presidency of the republic, and demands that the coup politicians and the de facto powers not interrupt or sabotage her constitutional mandate, which culminates next January 27, 2026. Coup d'état never again, no to the electoral coup,» Zelaya indicated. Former president Juan Orlando Hernández described the accusation of the Honduran leader as «false» that a «coup» is being plotted against her government and that he is planning his return to the country after being pardoned by the U.S. president, Donald Trump. «Honduran people, the accusation launched by President Xiomara Castro is completely false. There is no plan to enter the country or attempt to break the constitutional order,» he added. For his part, the chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces affirmed that «there is not going to be any coup here,» after Castro denounced the supposed plan to attack her government. «We guarantee the stability of the government, we are going to guarantee the permanence of the government until January 27, 2026 to achieve alternability. There is not going to be any coup here,» Hernández emphasized, in statements to a television channel. In the face of the atmosphere of uncertainty due to the delay in the election results, the Conference of Honduran Bishops (CEH) asked to respect the popular will expressed in the general elections. In a message addressed to «Hondurans of good will,» the bishops stated that, after the peaceful expression of citizen will in the elections, «there is nothing left but to listen to and respect the voice of the sovereign people.»
