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Honduras held its general elections on November 30, 2025, to elect a new president, 128 members of the National Congress, 298 mayors, and more than 2,000 municipal councilors.
Approximately 6.5 million eligible voters participated in a single-round presidential election, where the candidate with a plurality of votes won a four-year term beginning January 27, 2026.
The elections took place against a backdrop of extreme polarization, with the ruling left-wing Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre) facing off against conservative contenders from the National and Liberal parties.
Pre-election polls showed a close race between three candidates, but by 1:34 p.m. At 11:00 a.m. local time (CST), results were still being tallied and certified, with preliminary indications pointing to a narrow victory for Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, according to initial counts in urban centers such as Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
However, full certification by the National Electoral Council (CNE) is expected within 48 to 72 hours, amid ongoing disputes.
The process was observed by international missions from the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union (EU), and bilateral partners, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, highlighting global interests in regional stability. Voter turnout was estimated at around 65%, slightly higher than in 2021, driven by concerns about employment, insecurity, and corruption.
The elections have already transformed the Honduran political landscape, amplifying divisions and underscoring the country’s vulnerability to external influences:
The campaign was the most violent in recent history, with six politically motivated assassinations (four of them targeting Libre candidates) and a shooting at a Libre rally in November that left a child dead.
Audio leaks in October allegedly exposed opposition plots to “manipulate the popular vote,” leading Castro to denounce an “electoral coup.”
Internal struggles within the National Electoral Council (CNE) and military requests for unauthorized access to polling stations (for example, by the President of the Armed Forces, Roosevelt Hernández) eroded trust, with 70% of voters doubting the integrity of the process, according to AS/COA polls.
US President Donald Trump’s public endorsement of Asfura on November 28, framing the contest as a “democracy versus narco-terrorists” race linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, intensified tensions.
Trump warned of aid cuts if Asfura lost, linking the vote to US immigration and drug policies.
Remittances (25% of GDP, projected at over $10 billion in 2025) and the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Hondurans in the US increased the risks, which could trigger sudden increases in migration if instability persists.
Critics, including Human Rights Watch, deemed this undue interference, evoking the legacy of the 2009 US-backed coup.
Markets fell between 2% and 3% before the vote amid fears of fraud, and investors are wary of policy changes.
Honduras’s projected GDP growth of 3.5% by 2025 (according to CEPR) could falter if the disputes delay certification, stalling projects such as the Palmerola Airport expansion.
Poverty (63%) and underemployment remain severe, and voters prioritize employment over crime despite a three-year state of emergency against gangs. Initial reports from observers indicated that voting was smooth at most polling stations, but there were isolated irregularities, such as delays in ballot delivery in rural areas.
At 1:34 p.m. on election day, Honduras finds itself at a fragile democratic turning point: an opportunity for renewal or to sink into a deeper crisis.
Nasralla’s apparent lead suggests voter fatigue with extremes—rejecting the continuation of Libre amid corruption scandals and Asfura’s ties to the elite—and favoring pragmatic governance.
However, with certification pending, the true test is institutional resilience; failure risks a “Venezuela-light” scenario, to use Trump’s rhetoric, or renewed US interventionism.
Ultimately, these elections expose Honduras’s persistent challenges: endemic corruption, foreign interference, and economic fragility in a nation vulnerable to climate change. A peaceful transition would signal progress since the 2017 fraud, strengthening regional democracy.
Stakeholders—domestic actors, OAS observers, and the United States—must prioritize transparency to avoid chaos. For Hondurans, the vote underscores a collective demand for accountability, where “democracy on trial” requires not just a winner, but a functioning state. As one analyst from X noted, “it’s less about individuals and more about rebuilding trust” at a polarized crossroads.
