Tegucigalpa, November 30 (NA) -- The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Honduras was set to release the first numbers from the presidential election tally this early morning (Argentina time) to elect the successor to Xiomara Castro, starting from next January 27. The count was delayed because the voting period was extended by an hour due to the large number of voters.
The main presidential contenders are Rixi Moncada, of the ruling party Liberty and Refoundation (Libre, left-wing), the conservative Nasry Asfura, of the National Party, the main opposition force, publicly backed by U.S. President Donald Trump; and also the conservative Salvador Nasralla, of the Liberal Party, also in the opposition.
As announced yesterday by the Argentine News Agency, the citizens of this Central American country today went to the polls not only to choose the next head of the Executive branch, but also three vice-presidents, 298 mayors, 128 deputies for the local Congress, and 20 representatives to the Central American Parliament.
As was planned before the CNE announced the one-hour extension at polling stations, it had been reported that the first tally data would be released at 9 PM local time (12:00 AM in Argentina), but the postponement delayed the vote count.
These are crucial elections for Honduras, a country with a fragile democracy and an electoral campaign marked by fraud allegations between parties, tensions, and even accusations of military interference.
Former President Manuel Zelaya, husband of current President Xiomara Castro, stated this Sunday that the ruling left-wing party Liberty and Refoundation is doing "very well" in the exit polls.
"The polls we have, we already have two cuts, we are doing very well in the polls," Zelaya said, referring to the continuity in the Executive branch with Rixi Moncada's candidacy.
Meanwhile, Nasralla posted a message on his X social media account saying: "Thank God and the Church of Honduras for every prayer. Your prayers accompanied the country, and today Honduras lived a peaceful, guarded, and orderly election day. The voice of the people was expressed without fear."
Asfura, for his part, called for prudence, considering that "it is irresponsible for someone to come out prematurely saying they have already won. We must wait for the CNE's results."
"You know that I am a serious person, I am not going to talk about things that have no basis."
