Voters within the Central American nation of Honduras are set to go to the polls for Sunday’s normal election, as they weigh issues starting from corruption to nationwide and financial safety.
The present president, Xiomara Castro of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) celebration, 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 embrace Rixi Moncada from the LIBRE celebration; Nasry Asfura from the right-wing Nationwide Get together; and Salvador Nasralla from the centrist Liberal Get together.
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 stress 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 in regards to the integrity of the method.”
Who’re the candidates, what is going to voting appear to be, 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 essentially the most votes can be declared the winner and may 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 US. That group, nonetheless, is restricted to voting on the presidential candidates.
Voting is compulsory in Honduras, however there are not any penalties for many who don’t take part.
Who’re the candidates?
Three of the 5 presidential candidates have emerged as important challengers within the race.
Competing because the candidate for the left-leaning LIBRE Get together is Rixi Moncada, a detailed 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 financial system”, pushing again in opposition to efforts to privatise state providers. Her platform additionally guarantees larger 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 Get together, he’s operating for president for a fourth time.
A 72-year-old with a background in civil engineering, Nasralla previously served as Castro’s vp earlier than resigning in April 2024.
Nasralla has mentioned that he’ll streamline authorities capabilities whereas in search of to convey casual staff, who make up a big portion of the nation’s labour drive, into the formal financial system.
Lastly, operating because the candidate for the right-leaning Nationwide Get together 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 predicted to proceed her predecessor’s pursuit of nearer ties with international locations such as China and help for different left-wing figures within the area.
Each Nasralla and Asfura have mentioned they are going to orient Honduras in the 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 help for Asfura.
Trump additionally forged Honduras’s presidential race as a part of his broader marketing campaign in opposition to 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 stunning 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 preventing in opposition to 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 help, Moncada 26 and Asfura 24. These percentages separating the three candidates have been inside the ballot’s margin of error.
A further 18 p.c of respondents in that survey indicated they have 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.
Throughout the March primaries, as an example, there have been “irregularities” within the distribution of election supplies, and a few polling stations reported delays, lengthy traces and skinny staffing that pressured the vote to stretch late into the evening.
There has additionally been discord between the 2 authorities companies that deal with Honduras’s elections: the Nationwide Electoral Council (CNE) and the Electoral Justice Tribunal.
Congress elects the primary leaders for every of the 2 companies. However each the tribunal and the CNE have been focused for investigation lately.
In October, prosecutors opened a prison 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 issues over potential 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 in regards to the potential for fraud in Sunday’s vote, heightening scrutiny on the vote.
Organisations comparable to Human Rights Watch and the Group of American States (OAS) have expressed concern over the stress dealing with 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 every one political actors chorus from actions or statements that might inflame tensions or undermine public belief,” mentioned Goebertus.
