Voters within the Central American nation of Honduras are set to go to the polls for Sunday’s normal election, as they weigh considerations starting from corruption to nationwide and financial safety.
The present president, Xiomara Castro of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) occasion, is proscribed by legislation to at least one time period in workplace.
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However the race to succeed Castro is slated to be a nail-biter. Three candidates have surged to the entrance of the race, however none has taken a definitive lead within the polls.
They embody Rixi Moncada from the LIBRE occasion; Nasry Asfura from the right-wing Nationwide Celebration; and Salvador Nasralla from the centrist Liberal Celebration.
The race, nonetheless, has been marred by accusations of fraud and election-tampering.
These allegations have raised tensions in Honduras, whose political system continues to be recovering from the legacy of a United States-backed 2009 military coup that was adopted by a interval of repression and contested elections.
“Honduras is heading into these elections amid mounting political strain on electoral authorities, public accusations of fraud from throughout the political spectrum, and paralysis inside key electoral our bodies,” mentioned Juanita Goebertus, director of the Americas division on the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.
“These dynamics have created actual uncertainty concerning the integrity of the method.”
Who’re the candidates, what’s going to voting seem like, and what are the stakes of the election? We reply these questions and extra on this temporary explainer.
When is the election?
The election will happen in a single spherical of voting, held on November 30. The candidate with probably the most votes shall be declared the winner and will take workplace on January 25, 2026.
How lengthy is the presidential time period?
Every president could serve a single four-year time period in workplace.
Who’s eligible to vote?
There are about 6.5 million Hondurans eligible to forged a poll, together with about 400,000 residing overseas in the USA. That group, nonetheless, is restricted to voting on the presidential candidates.
Voting is compulsory in Honduras, however there aren’t any penalties for individuals who don’t take part.
Who’re the candidates?
Three of the 5 presidential candidates have emerged as principal challengers within the race.
Competing because the candidate for the left-leaning LIBRE Celebration is Rixi Moncada, an in depth confidant of President Castro who has served first as her finance minister, from 2022 to 2024, and later as her secretary of defence.
Moncada resigned that place in Could to pursue her presidential bid.
If elected, she has pledged to “democratise the economic system”, pushing again towards efforts to privatise state companies. Her platform additionally guarantees better entry to credit score for small companies and a crackdown on company corruption.
One other contender is Salvador Nasralla, a well-recognized face in Honduran politics. A candidate for the centrist Liberal Celebration, he’s working for president for a fourth time.
A 72-year-old with a background in civil engineering, Nasralla previously served as Castro’s vice chairman earlier than resigning in April 2024.
Nasralla has mentioned that he’ll streamline authorities capabilities whereas searching for to convey casual staff, who make up a big portion of the nation’s labour power, into the formal economic system.
Lastly, working because the candidate for the right-leaning Nationwide Celebration is Nasry “Tito” Asfura.
Beforehand a mayor and consultant for the capital of Tegucigalpa, Asfura has mentioned he’ll run the nation as an “administrator” and “executor”, selling pro-business insurance policies to draw funding.
How have international relations performed a job within the election?
On international relations, Moncada is anticipated to proceed her predecessor’s pursuit of nearer ties with international locations such as China and assist for different left-wing figures within the area.
Each Nasralla and Asfura have mentioned they may orient Honduras in direction of the US and its allies, together with Israel and Taiwan.
On Wednesday, within the waning days of the presidential race, US President Donald Trump expressed his assist for Asfura.
Trump additionally forged Honduras’s presidential race as a part of his broader marketing campaign towards Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, blaming the South American chief for drug trafficking and the institution of left-wing governments throughout the area.
“Democracy is on trial within the coming Elections within the lovely nation of Honduras on November thirtieth. Will Maduro and his Narcoterrorists take over one other nation like they’ve taken over Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela?” Trump wrote on his platform Fact Social.
“The person who’s standing up for Democracy, and combating towards Maduro, is Tito Asfura.”
What do the polls say?
Although pre-election surveys have proven Moncada, Nasralla and Asfura to be within the lead, no clear frontrunner has emerged.
In September, a poll launched by the agency CID Gallup discovered that Nasralla had 27 p.c assist, Moncada 26 and Asfura 24. These percentages separating the three candidates had been inside the ballot’s margin of error.
An extra 18 p.c of respondents in that survey indicated they had been undecided.
Why has election integrity been a priority?
Questions of corruption have lengthy dogged Honduras’s fragile democracy, and this election season has introduced these fears again to the fore.
Through the March primaries, for example, there have been “irregularities” within the distribution of election supplies, and a few polling stations reported delays, lengthy strains and skinny staffing that compelled the vote to stretch late into the night time.
There has additionally been discord between the 2 authorities businesses that deal with Honduras’s elections: the Nationwide Electoral Council (CNE) and the Electoral Justice Tribunal.
Congress elects the principle leaders for every of the 2 businesses. However each the tribunal and the CNE have been focused for investigation lately.
In October, prosecutors opened a felony probe into CNE chief Cossette Lopez over alleged plans for an “electoral coup”.
The Joint Workers of the Armed Forces has additionally requested the CNE for a duplicate of a vote tally sheet for the presidential race on election day, prompting considerations over attainable interference by the armed forces.
The Electoral Justice Tribunal, in the meantime, has confronted an investigation into whether or not it has voted with out all of its members current.
Each President Castro and members of the opposition have spoken concerning the potential for fraud in Sunday’s vote, heightening scrutiny on the vote.
Organisations equivalent to Human Rights Watch and the Group of American States (OAS) have expressed concern over the strain going through election officers.
“What issues most now could be that electoral establishments are allowed to function independently, that the Armed Forces adhere strictly to their restricted constitutional function, and that each one political actors chorus from actions or statements that might inflame tensions or undermine public belief,” mentioned Goebertus.
