Centrist Nasralla leads tight Honduras vote as Trump alleges fraud

Salvador Nasralla of Honduras’ centrist Liberal Party has taken a razor-thin lead over conservative rival Nasry Asfura, the candidate backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, in a presidential election marred by delays and allegations of fraud.

According to the latest results released by the electoral authority on Tuesday evening, Nasralla held 40.13% of the vote compared with Asfura’s 39.71%, with around 68% of ballots counted, a difference of just 9,129 votes.

Asfura had previously been ahead by around 500 votes based on earlier tallies published on Monday. Rixi Moncada of the ruling leftist LIBRE Party trailed in third place with 19.09%.

Earlier in the day, the National Electoral Council (CNE) urged calm as it worked to resolve a system malfunction that left roughly 20% of votes uncounted.

The delays came as Trump alleged voter fraud and warned there would be “hell to pay” if the results were altered.

On Monday, the CNE had described the contest between Nasralla and Asfura as a “technical tie,” saying manual counting would be required. The rapid tally system had been plagued by technical issues, including problems with the results website, which was inaccessible for much of Monday and fuelled tensions in what was already a highly charged race marked by fraud accusations even before polls opened.

Amidst the political turmoil, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández — from Asfura’s National Party — was released from a U.S. prison on Monday, where he had been serving a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking and firearms offences.

His release followed a pardon from Trump, who had urged Hondurans to support Asfura and vowed to free Hernández if elected. A White House official later confirmed the pardon.

Trump also accused Honduran authorities of attempting to “change the results” of the election, writing on Truth Social: “If they do, there will be hell to pay! The people of Honduras voted in overwhelming numbers on November 30th.”

The Organization of American States (OAS), which observed the vote, reported high voter turnout and said the process was generally peaceful, aside from isolated incidents in some municipalities. Still, there are growing fears that prolonged uncertainty could spark protests or unrest.

The electoral authority has pledged to provide updates directly to the media and political parties to ensure transparency.

Former President Manuel Zelaya — husband of current President Xiomara Castro — condemned Trump’s interference, accusing him of trying to block Moncada’s campaign and vowing that Hondurans would “stand up for democracy.” Moncada herself insisted that the race was “still not lost” and accused rival parties of manipulating the count, while also criticising U.S. involvement.

Both Nasralla and Asfura have indicated that they may re-establish diplomatic ties with Taiwan, severed in 2023, in what would represent China’s biggest diplomatic setback in Latin America for decades.

In Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung said the island would seek engagement with whichever candidate prevails. “We look forward to Taiwan and Honduras being able, after this election, to establish diplomatic relations based on equality and mutual benefit,” he said.

During the campaign, Trump said he could work with Asfura — a 67-year-old former mayor of Tegucigalpa — to tackle drug trafficking, accusing Moncada of being a “communist” and Nasralla of being a “borderline communist” aiming to divide the opposition vote.

Nasralla, a 72-year-old television presenter and former vice president under Castro, is running for the presidency for the third time, promising to restore the rule of law and combat corruption under a centrist platform.

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