Honduras Votes Amid Fraud Accusations
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (WHN) – Hondurans voted in a tense presidential election that was immediately engulfed by widespread accusations of fraud after the country’s electoral body halted its public vote count, sparking protests and drawing sharp criticism from international observers. Incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernández of the National Party faced challenger Salvador Nasralla from the Opposition Alliance Against the Dictatorship.
The race appeared to be heading for an upset.
With nearly 60 percent of the ballots tallied, early results from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) showed Nasralla holding a significant five-point lead over Hernández. The opposition declared victory based on this initial, substantial margin.
The electronic transmission of results then abruptly stopped. The TSE’s public-facing system went offline for more than 24 hours, leaving the nation in a state of uncertainty and fueling opposition suspicions of tampering.
When the system came back online, the trend had inexplicably reversed. A new batch of results systematically eroded Nasralla’s lead, eventually placing Hernández ahead by a narrow margin of just over 1.5 percent. The TSE later declared Hernández the official winner.
The opposition immediately rejected the results. Nasralla called the situation a “coup” and alleged the TSE had manipulated the vote count during the system blackout to “steal the election” from him and the Honduran people.
International monitoring groups expressed serious doubts about the integrity of the count. The Organization of American States (OAS) election observation mission cited a multitude of irregularities and a “lack of certainty” in the process.
“The tight margin, along with the irregularities, errors and systemic problems that have surrounded this election, do not allow the mission to be certain about the results,” the OAS stated in a formal report.
Jorge Quiroga, the head of the OAS mission, called for a complete recount of all votes due to the compromised process.
The European Union’s observer mission also reported a lack of transparency from the TSE after the system failure. The EU mission did not call the result fraudulent but highlighted significant procedural problems that damaged the election’s credibility.
News of the reversed results triggered immediate protests. Thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets in Tegucigalpa and other major cities, setting up roadblocks with burning tires and clashing with security forces.
The Hernández government responded by declaring a state of emergency. A 10-day, nationwide nighttime curfew was imposed in an effort to control the unrest. Reports confirmed several deaths and dozens of injuries during the clashes between protesters and military police.
The election was highly contentious before any votes were cast. Hernández’s run for a second term was made possible only after a 2015 Supreme Court ruling, packed with his allies, overturned a constitutional one-term limit. Opponents argued his candidacy was illegal from the start.
David Matamoros, the president of the TSE, repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Matamoros insisted the delays were due to technical issues and defended the final count’s legitimacy.
The United States government recognized Hernández’s victory, a decision that prompted criticism from human rights groups and some U.S. lawmakers who pointed to the deeply flawed process detailed by international monitors.
