Conservative candidates lead in Honduras presidential election
A right-wing candidate has taken the lead in Honduras elections, followed a conservative. US President Trump has backed the right-winger, warning to cut off aid if his preferred candidate does not win. Trump's decision to pardon a previous president has also hung over the poll.
Mexico City (dpa) - Right-wing opposition candidate Nasry "Tito" Asfura has taken a narrow lead in Honduras' presidential election, preliminary results showed late on Sunday, dealing a setback to the ruling left-wing Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) party. With 41% of polling stations counted, Asfura of the National Party, backed days earlier by US President Donald Trump, had around 41% of the vote, the National Electoral Council said.
Conservative candidate Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party followed with around 39%, while government candidate Rixi Moncada trailed in third on about 20%. Whoever wins the most votes is elected and there is no run-off.
Around 6.5 million Hondurans were eligible to vote for a successor to left-wing President Xiomara Castro.
No outright favourite - Trump backs Asfura
Polls showed no outright favourite going into election day and the political atmosphere was tense, with government and opposition figures accusing each other of planning to manipulate the outcome. In 2017 protests over alleged electoral fraud left more than 20 people dead.
Voters were also choosing a new parliament and local authorities. Poverty, drug violence and corruption are among the country's main problems.
A few days before the vote, Trump urged support for Asfura to fight "narco-communism."
"If he doesn't win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country," Trump posted on his platform Truth Social on Friday.
Before polls opened, Moncada said she would not recognize preliminary electronic results on the night after the election and said she would wait for the final count of all paper tally sheets. The electoral authority has up to 30 days to formally declare a winner.
The National Electoral Council reported a high turnout and said voting ended peacefully, though polling hours were extended by an hour after long queues formed.
President Castro has governed Honduras since 2022 as the country's first female head of state. She is the wife of former president Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a 2009 coup.
After the coup, the National Party - now backed by Trump - ruled for more than 10 years. Party members also include Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president serving a 45-year sentence in the US for involvement in drug trafficking.
Trump announced on Friday he would pardon him.
Trump also signalled US support if right-wing candidate Nasry "Tito" Asfura wins Sunday's presidential election. Asfura is running for the National Party of former president Hernández.
"If he doesn't win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country," he wrote on Truth Social.
Asfura, former mayor of the capital, Tegucigalpa, is among three leading contenders. The ruling left-wing Libre party has put forward former finance and defence minister Rixi Moncada, while Salvador Nasralla is running for the Liberal Party.
"Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists, and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras. I cannot work with Moncada and the Communists, and Nasralla is not a reliable partner for Freedom, and cannot be trusted," Trump said in a separate post.