By Germán Reyes
Río Helado, Honduras (EFE).- Honduras heads into Sunday’s general elections amid a climate of fear marked by political violence, threats against candidates and activists, and the extension of a partial state of exception affecting most of the country, raising concerns about the security and integrity of the vote.
The atmosphere grew even more tense this month after the killing of five-year-old Arnold Caled, who died from a gunshot wound to the head while returning from a rally of the ruling Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) party in the village of La Cuesta, in western Santa Bárbara. A 14-year-old girl was also injured.
His mother, Rosita Díaz, broke down in tears as she told EFE that her son “wanted to be a police officer” and dreamed of building a house for her and his grandmother, Ramona Hernández.
The boy died in his grandmother’s arms inside a double-cabin work vehicle carrying several family members home to Río Helado.
“We heard about five shots, but we didn’t know where they were coming from,” Díaz said, showing the toy car she recently bought for Arnol and the rubber boots he wore on the day he died.
The child had been enrolled to begin his first year of preschool in 2026. “He had so many dreams,” his grandmother said.
Authorities have also documented four political killings this year, including the murder of two National Party mayoral candidates in February, a National Party mayor in July, and a Libre congressional candidate in September.
State of exception raises democratic concerns
Beyond individual attacks, uncertainty deepened after the government extended the partial state of exception, first imposed in Dec. 2022, by another 45 days on Nov. 12.
The measure currently applies to 226 of Honduras’ 298 municipalities.
“Honduras is heading into a general election trapped inside a situation that no country aspiring to be democratic should tolerate: an electoral process under a state of exception,” said Gabriela Castellanos, executive director of the National Anti-Corruption Council (CNA).
She warned that the prolonged measure has become “a norm, a routine, a form of legal anesthesia.”
The state of exception was intended to curb criminal violence, which Security Minister Gustavo Sánchez says has decreased “substantially.”
However, civil society groups and analysts dispute that claim, arguing the policy has not delivered meaningful results.
Threats, including death threats, have also targeted electoral officials, such as two members of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and two magistrates from the Electoral Justice Tribunal (TJE), all from opposition parties.
Carmen Julia Fajardo, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), told EFE the rise in political violence “is alarming” and that “the curve is increasing.”
She said the trend includes growing “symbolic and physical violence” against women participating in politics.
Voters prepare for high-stakes election
More than six million Hondurans are eligible to vote on Sunday to elect the successor to Honduran President Xiomara Castro, Honduras’ first female head of state, as well as three presidential designates (vice presidents), 298 mayors, 128 national lawmakers, and 20 Central American Parliament representatives.
Campaigns for the country’s main parties, National, Liberal and Libre, have been marked by hostility, mutual accusations, and fears that the volatile security environment could undermine public confidence in the electoral process. EFE
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