Tegucigalpa (EFE).- Honduras’ National Electoral Council (CNE) on Thursday began a delayed special review of at least 2,792 tally sheets flagged for inconsistencies, a process that could prove decisive in determining the winner of the Nov. 30 general election, marked by a razor-thin presidential race.
The review started at 3:40 pm local time, days later than planned, after repeated postponements since Dec. 13 due to difficulties installing review boards and disputes among party representatives.
Tight race, disputed results
The presidential contest pits Nasry “Tito” Asfura of the National Party, who leads with 40.54% of the vote and has the backing of United States President Donald Trump, against Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, who has 39.19%, according to results published by the CNE with 99.80% of tally sheets processed.
Nasralla has questioned the results and demanded broader recounts.
“The Liberal Party accepted the review of the 2,792 pending ballot boxes to complete some 500,000 votes,” he said on X, while urging the CNE to immediately authorize a “vote-by-vote” review of an additional 8,084 tally sheets.
Reasons for the delay
The CNE said the special review, originally scheduled to begin last Saturday, was delayed by administrative obstacles, the absence of party representatives at some verification tables, and pending technological procedures.
CNE President Ana Paola Hall said the process began with two ballot boxes from a polling station in La Ceiba, on the Caribbean coast.
“Once the technical verification of transmission is completed, all members of the Verification and Reception Boards will continue with the special review at all tables,” she said in a post on X.
The recount is being conducted in the presence of national and international observers, the CNE said.
Hall did not specify an end date, though the council has until Dec. 30 to publish official results.
Calls for broader recount rejected
Nasralla and the ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre), whose candidate Rixi Moncada is third with 19.29%, have called for a nationwide “vote-by-vote” recount.
The CNE has rejected the request, citing legal constraints.
On Wednesday, the electoral body said the law does not allow a nationwide vote-by-vote recount without cause and warned that accepting such a review at the presidential level could trigger similar demands in other races, “undermining the scrutiny system” and acting “outside the law.”
Earlier Thursday, Honduran President Xiomara Castro said she would recognize the winner once certified by the CNE and pledged a “peaceful” transfer of power on Jan. 27, 2026.
Each political party is accredited 400 representatives for the special review, which will run in two 12-hour daily shifts across 150 review tables. EFE
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