Asfura Overtakes Nasralla in Honduras’ Chaotic Vote Count as Fraud Allegations Grow

Honduran centrist candidate Salvador Nasralla has alleged electoral fraud after his Trump-backed rival, National Party candidate Nasry Asfura, pulled narrowly ahead in the country’s fiercely contested presidential race. Nasralla claimed the vote-tracking screen “went blank” early Thursday morning and accused an algorithm of altering the tally. The electoral council (CNE) rejected the accusation, saying inconsistent polling station records were excluded from the formal count and would undergo review within the legal deadline.

With about 87% of tally sheets processed, Asfura holds 40.25% of the vote, roughly 23,900 ballots ahead of Nasralla’s 39.39%, while LIBRE’s Rixi Moncada trails in third. Roughly 17% of the tally sheets show inconsistencies and will be reviewed, adding to tensions in a country long plagued by disputed results. CNE officials acknowledged technical problems in the vote-reporting system, while another council member denounced alleged vote-buying, intimidation, and “vulgar foreign intervention,” calling the process “perhaps the least transparent” in Honduras’ democratic history.

The reporting of results has been chaotic, marred by pauses and shifting leads that deepened public frustration. Former U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly inserted himself into the election, strongly backing Asfura and alleging fraud without evidence. Despite the charged political climate and the country’s history of post-election unrest, the streets of Tegucigalpa remained calm as officials urged patience, emphasizing that the CNE’s final results will be binding.

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