Arya News - Central American nation on edge after voting plagued by fraud claims and a recent history of contested elections.
Election officials in Honduras have released updated voting results from the country’s November 30 election , following a three-day pause in tallies amid allegations of fraud and inconsistencies.
With 89 percent of ballots tallied on Monday, the conservative candidate Nasry Asfura held a slim lead of 40.21 percent over centrist contender Salvador Nasralla, who has 39.5 percent.
Rixi Moncada, a leftist candidate with the governing LIBRE party, is trailing in third place, with 19.28 percent.
“After carrying out the necessary technical actions (with external auditing), the data is now being updated in the results,” Ana Paola Hall, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), said in a social media post.
Allegations of fraud had dominated the lead-up to the election, and statements from United States President Donald Trump-backed have likewise stirred controversy.
In the final days before the election, Trump indicated that he may not be able to work with anyone but Asfura . That, in turn, led to an outcry from other candidates who accused the US leader of election meddling.
The electoral body stated that about 14 percent of the tally sheets showed inconsistencies and would be reviewed. Hall added in her post that candidates must “stay alert and, where applicable, file the corresponding challenges in accordance with the law”.
Following a coup in 2009, Honduras experienced a period of repression and disputed elections that left many sceptical about the legitimacy of the electoral process. Security forces killed at least 16 people when they opened fire on protesters following a contested vote in 2017, with about 30 killed in protests across the country.
The prolonged vote-counting has fuelled concerns that similar clashes might erupt.
The opposition has also criticised Trump’s stated preference for Asfura as a form of interference, given his threat that US support could be withdrawn if he did not win.
Trump has previously written, “If he [Asfura] doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad.”
Moncada, the Libre candidate, has said she will not recognise the results that took place under “interference and coercion”. Nasralla has also said that Trump’s interference may have cost him votes.
Accusations of impropriety are widespread, with a conservative member of the CNE panel accusing a LIBRE member of “intimidation”, and Nasralla saying that “the corrupt ones are the ones holding up the counting process”.
Rights groups and civil society organisations have called for patience and transparency.