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Wearing latex gloves, party officials and representatives have been examining each ballot since Thursday as if they were forensic evidence. The in-depth investigation takes place after the November 30 vote and is expected to confirm whether the next president will be conservative businessman Nasry Asfura, 67, supported by former US President Donald Trump, or the also right-wing Salvador Nasralla, a 72-year-old television presenter.
Asfura maintains an advantage of only a few thousand votes, while Nasralla claims to still have room to maneuver to modify the result.
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The process took new forms after the Trump administration’s decision to revoke the visa of electoral magistrate Mario Morazán and to allege that advisor Marlon Ochoa, of the National Electoral Council (CNE), was “obstructing” the count. Both are close to the government of Honduran President Xiomara Castro, who accuses Trump of meddling in manipulating the popular will. Washington also restricted the entry of another unidentified person.
Trump had already shaken the political scene by granting pardon to former President Juan Orlando Hernández, an ally of Asfura and sentenced to 45 years in prison in the United States for drug trafficking.
Intense surveillance and tension in the streets
The examination of some 2,800 files considered “incoherent” is accompanied by closed circuit cameras and military surveillance outside. The press does not have access to the site, but the entire process is broadcast on the CNE YouTube channel, a target of criticism due to frequent technical breakdowns which interrupt the publication of the results.
These issues, combined with the narrow gap between the candidates, allegations of fraud and U.S. intervention, have fueled protests and conspiracy theories, reminiscent of episodes from the country’s previous electoral crises.
The tension, however, began to ease after the “special examination” began. Still, Nasralla’s Liberal Party and the ruling Free Party are demanding a full recount of the votes.
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— Now I am calmer because there will be a president. Before, I didn’t think so,” Sandra Suazo, 68, who followed the process in Tegucigalpa, told AFP.
The CNE has until December 30 to announce the winner, but, according to the organization’s director of political training, Bladimir Bastida, the count could be completed in a few hours. Nasralla, however, insists that after this step, all inconsistencies will have to be examined, which, according to him, would concern around 8,000 ballot boxes.
Whatever the outcome, prolonged electoral uncertainty is already affecting Tegucigalpa’s business owners, who have seen their movement collapse over fears of violence and protests.
Sandra Reyes, 31, a stall owner at the Kennedy neighborhood open-air market, said she invested $1,000 in second-hand clothes imported from the United States but was able to sell almost nothing. “People are afraid to spend,” he says.
Norman Sierra, 56, a used car salesman, also suffered losses. “It’s scary because protests can take place and stones can be thrown,” he said.
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