Honduran presidential election tally has been delayed due to a system malfunction, with only about 70% of the votes counted. The candidate Salvador Nasralla from the Liberal Party (PLH) is narrowly leading over Nasry Asfura, the National Party (PNH) candidate supported by Trump. Both candidates have expressed their intentions to potentially restore diplomatic relations with Taiwan if elected.
Honduras, also known in Taiwan as Hongduras, released statistics late Tuesday, showing that with about 68% of the votes counted, Nasralla has received 40.13% while Asfura has 39.71%, with a narrow margin of only 9,129 votes between them. The election officials have declared the current situation as a “technical tie.”
The candidate from the left-wing ruling party “Free Rebuild Party,” Rixi Moncada, is in third place with 19.09% of the votes.
Election authorities reported that the fast counting system has been experiencing issues since Monday, resulting in around 20% of votes not being entered, and the election website being down for a long time.
The election commission has called for calm from all parties and stated that manual counting will now need to be implemented.
As an observer, the Organization of American States (OAS) noted that the voter turnout on Sunday was high and the country was generally peaceful. The organization stated that the voting process in Honduras was mostly normal, with only sporadic incidents reported in some towns.
However, concerns have been raised that if the delayed release of the election results continues in the tense atmosphere, protests and social unrest could be triggered.
Due to the ongoing delays in the counting process, President Trump has publicly questioned the credibility of the results. He accused Honduras on social media of trying to “alter the election results” and warned that doing so would “pay a heavy price.”
Previously, Trump had urged voters to support Asfura and announced the pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a 45-year sentence in the United States for drug and firearm offenses. Hernandez was released from a U.S. prison on Monday.
Trump has also expressed willingness to cooperate with Asfura in combating drug trafficking.
The current President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro’s husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, strongly condemned Trump’s interference in the election on X platform, stating that it was an attempt to prevent Moncada from running and emphasizing that the Honduran people will defend democracy.
Moncada has also claimed that the election is “not over yet,” accusing other parties of manipulating the process and criticizing U.S. intervention.
This election has drawn close attention from Taipei and Beijing, with both Nasralla, representing the center, and Asfura, representing the conservatives, indicating their potential to restore diplomatic relations that were severed in 2023.
Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Joseph Wu, told reporters on Wednesday that the Taiwanese government is closely monitoring the situation and maintains an “open attitude” towards restoring diplomatic relations.
Wu pointed out that Taiwan has been in contact and had good interactions with both presidential candidates who are friendly towards Taiwan and looks forward to establishing bilateral diplomatic relations with Honduras on the basis of “equality and mutual benefit.”