It was lowered several decibels this Friday after President Xiomara Castro reported that she will accept the results of a presidential election. Castro, but on Thursday afternoon he lowered his tone and said that he will guarantee a “peaceful and orderly” transition of power to whoever wins the elections, whose counting was resumed after a delay of several days that generated demonstrations and fights in the facilities of the electoral body that guards the records. The so-called special recount of 2,792 ballots that present inconsistencies, which should have started on December 13, advanced on Friday with the narrow advantage of the conservative candidate, who has 40.4% of the votes, closely followed by the liberal, who has 39.4% of the support.
Castro could not choose a better setting for his statements than the ceremony for the transfer of command of the leadership of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Army in a country where the military has always supervised politics. It was the Army that, husband of the current president. “To maintain peace in our country, I will respect, even in these difficult circumstances, the winner proclaimed by the National Electoral Council,” Castro said. “From this declaration, the peaceful transition of my Government to the new regime will begin. On January 27, peacefully, I will end my term as the first female president of the Republic,” she promised. Her statements put an end to a series of speculations by opponents, who have stated that the president and her acolytes would not leave the Honduran Government.
President Xiomara Castro clearly reaffirms her commitment to democracy: respect for what the CNE proclaims, peaceful transition to the new government and strict compliance with the constitutional mandate, which ends on January 27, 2026.
— Government of Honduras (@GobiernoHN)
Ana Paola Hall, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), announced the start of the so-called special recount after the conservative National Party and the Liberal Party agreed to register their representatives as guarantors in the scrutiny, which is public and broadcast live to, according to the official, guarantee its transparency. International observers are also following the process that should show the final photograph of a close electoral race full of obstacles, marked by clumsiness in a vote count full of interruptions and “technical problems.” Both Asfura and Nasralla support this procedure and have stated that they will accept its result.
On Friday afternoon, 99.8% of the minutes had already been scrutinized and those preliminary results gave a minimal advantage to Asfura, who has the support of Trump. The conservative had 1,322,695 million votes (40.4%) while Nasralla obtained 1,290,119 million (39.4%). The Honduran electoral system establishes as the winner whoever obtains the majority of votes once the verification of all the ballots is completed and the CNE has until December 30 to name a winner. Hall promised that they will meet the established deadlines. “We have made enormous efforts to begin this stage. We will remain firm, defending the process and moving towards the declaration of results, rain, shine or lightning,” he assured.
