Nasry Asfura, the Conservative National Party candidate backed by US President Donald Trump, leads Honduras' presidential election with just over 40% of votes counted, preliminary results showed on Monday.
A former mayor of Tegucigalpa, 67-year-old Asfura had 41% of the votes counted so far. The preliminary results showed Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla in second place with about 39%. Rixi Moncada, of the ruling LIBRE party, had 20% and placed third.
Whichever candidate wins a simple majority will govern the country between 2026 and 2030.
In the run-up, Trump weighed in on the tightly contested race to throw his support behind Asfura in a series of social media posts, saying he can work with him to counter drug trafficking and that "if he doesn't win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad."
On Friday, Trump also said he will grant a pardon to former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who is serving a 45-year prison sentence in the US for drug trafficking and firearms charges. Hernandez, who led Honduras from 2014 to 2022, was also of the National Party.
Both Asfura and Nasralla have said they may resume diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which were severed in 2023. Such a move would mark the biggest diplomatic setback for China in the region for decades.
Sunday's vote, in which the 128 members of Congress, hundreds of mayors, and thousands of other public officials are also being chosen, took place in a highly polarized climate, with the three top candidates hurling accusations of possible fraud. Moncada has suggested she would not recognize the official results.
Most polls showed a virtual tie between the three candidates heading into election day. The Organization of American States expressed concerns about the electoral process, and, in an extraordinary session last week, the majority of its members called on the government of outgoing President Xiomara Castro to conduct elections free of intimidation, fraud, and political interference.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau also warned the US will respond "swiftly and decisively to anyone who undermines the integrity of the democratic process in Honduras."
On Sunday, some frustrated voters and electoral observers denounced officials for turning away citizens still waiting to vote. The National Electoral Council (CNE) had extended polling station hours until 6 p.m. (2400 GMT) and authorized individual voting stations to remain open for an additional hour. However, some locations appeared to be closed while voters were still waiting.
Distrust of electoral process
Honduras, where six out of every 10 citizens live in poverty, suffered a coup in 2009 when an alliance of right-wing military figures, politicians, and businessmen overthrew Manuel Zelaya, the husband of the current president. In 2021, Hondurans voted massively for Castro, ending more than a century of rule by the National and Liberal parties.
Honduras' Attorney General's Office, aligned with the ruling party, has accused the opposition parties of planning to commit voter fraud, a claim they deny.
Prosecutors have opened an investigation into audio recordings that allegedly show a high-ranking National Party politician discussing plans with an unidentified military officer to influence the election. The alleged recordings, which the National Party says were created using artificial intelligence, were central to Moncada's campaign.
The Honduran military has also come under criticism for asking the National Election Council to provide it with copies of the tally sheets on election day, a violation of Honduran law.
These tensions contributed to a growing public distrust of the electoral authorities and the electoral process in general.
Castro, the first woman to govern Honduras, increased public investment and social spending. The economy has grown moderately, and poverty and inequality have decreased, although both remain high. The International Monetary Fund has praised her government's prudent fiscal management.
The country's homicide rate has also fallen to its lowest level in recent history, but violence persists. Human rights groups have criticized Castro for maintaining a prolonged state of emergency in parts of Honduras and for continuing to rely on the military for policing, the approach of her predecessor, Hernandez.