General elections were held in Honduras on 30 November 2025.[1] Voters elected the President, all 128 members of the National Congress, and 20 representatives to the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN). The National Electoral Council (CNE) declared National Party candidate Nasry Asfura as the election's winner on 24 December. The election was marred by allegations of foreign interference and a prolonged and controversial vote count that saw Asfura win over his nearest opponent, Salvador Nasralla, by a narrow margin. The National Party also won a plurality of seats in the country's National Congress, while the Liberal Party became the second largest party in the Congress at the expense of LIBRE.
The President of Honduras is elected by a simple plurality in a single round of voting; the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of whether they achieve an absolute majority.[2]
The 128 members of the National Congress are elected by open listproportional representation across 18 multi-member constituencies, which correspond to the country's departments. The number of seats per constituency ranges from one to 23.[3] Seats are allocated using the Hare quota method.[3]
Primary elections
Primary elections to select presidential, congressional, and mayoral candidates for the three major parties—LIBRE, the National Party, and the Liberal Party—were held on 9 March 2025. Eleven smaller parties selected their candidates through internal processes. A total of ten candidates contested the presidential primaries. The voting process was marred by logistical delays in the delivery of electoral materials, leading to late openings at some polling stations and triggering minor protests.[4]
Supported by Todos Por Honduras (All For Honduras)
Salvador Nasralla, having unsuccessfully run in 2013 and 2017, decided to join the Liberal party for a third presidential run after conflict with Libre following the 2022 Honduran political crisis and his resignation as First Vice President of Honduras on 30 April 2024.
The race features five main contenders representing a broad political spectrum, from the left-wing populism of LIBRE to the right-wing conservatism of the National Party.
Previous positions: Minister of Defense (2024–2025) Minister of Finance (2022–2024) Electoral Councilor CNE (2019–2022) Manager of the ENEE (2008–2009) Minister of Labor and Social Security (2006–2008)
Previous positions: Presidential designate of LIBRE (2022–2024) Presidential candidate of Alliance of the Opposition (2017) Presidential candidate of the PAC (2013)
Previous positions: Owner and host of Q'Hubo TV Councilman of the Central District for the PNH (2006–2010)
Previous positions: Presidential candidate (2021) Mayor of Tegucigalpa (2014–2022) Deputy (2010–2014). Director FHIS (2010–2011) Councilman of Tegucigalpa (2006–2010). Various positions in Tegucigalpa City Hall (1990–2002)
A total of 632 candidates ran for the 128 seats in the National Congress in the parliamentary elections.[6] Of the ten parties that were evaluated, only five were approved to run in the elections:[7]
The official campaign began on 1 September with opposition parties leading in the polls.[8]
Moncada, who is supported by outgoing president Xiomara Castro, called the election a choice between a "coup-plotting oligarchy", referring to the 2009 Honduran coup d'état, and democratic socialism. She also pledged to protect "natural wealth" from "21st-century filibusters who want to privatise everything" and combat corruption. Asfura pledged to bring "development and opportunities for everyone", to "facilitate foreign and domestic investment into the country", and "generate employment for all". Nasralla, for his part, based his economic plan on four pillars: democracy and the rule of law; food security and rural prosperity; social welfare; and economic welfare.[9][10][11]
Nelson Ávila emerged as the candidate offering an alternative to the party system that has governed Honduras and put forward proposals to combat poverty and hunger with measures such as creating a fund to support entrepreneurs, as well as investing in intelligence and police training to reduce violence, a new education system focused on a culture of peace, and Central American international collaboration for common development through a transnational currency and infrastructure.[12]
Rivera, for his part, presented measures such as promoting a referendum to integrate Honduras as a U.S. state, as well as approving the death penalty, moving from a secular state to a non-denominational state, and replicating the libertarian economic measures of Argentine president Javier Milei and the security measures of Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele.[13] On 23 November, Rivera withdrew from the campaign to join Nasralla.[14]
The campaign period was notably violent. A leading independent body monitoring violence in Honduras recorded six politically-motivated homicides, four of which targeted LIBRE candidates. In November, a five-year-old boy was killed when masked gunmen opened fire on a LIBRE campaign event.[15]
Allegations of fraud and external interference
In late October 2025, audio recordings were released that allegedly featured conversations between members of the opposition – including a National Electoral Council (CNE) representative, Cossette López, Congressman Tomás Zambrano, and a military officer – discussing plans to "manipulate the popular vote". Zambrano, a leader of the National Party, dismissed the recordings as "completely false, fabricated... manipulated [with] artificial intelligence." In response, President Castro called for an official investigation, denouncing what she termed an "electoral coup".[16]
U.S. President Donald Trump has made statements that potentially influenced the election.
He endorsed National Party candidate Nasry Asfura, and proposed that U.S. financial aid to Honduras could be 'suspended' if Asfura did not win the election and become President.[17]
He labelled Liberal party candidate Salvador Nasralla a "borderline communist".[18]
He has promised to pardon former President Juan Orlando Hernández of the National Party,[19] who until 2 December 2025 was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking.[20]
On 2 December, Cossette López, a member of the CNE from the National Party, accused Marlon Ochoa (a CNE member from LIBRE) of seeking to delay a news conference marking the resumption of the publication of the election results by sending his staff and LIBRE members to the conference venue, which López described as "intimidation". Ochoa had previously filed a complaint against López over her alleged audio recording in October.[21]
On 10 December, the head of the Armed Forces of Honduras, Roosevelt Hernández, said the military would recognize the election results and guarantee that they would be honored. The head of the CNE, Ana Paola Hall, asked for soldiers to be deployed outside buildings where ballots are being stored.[22]
Reporting of results
On 2 December 2025, as preliminary results recorded by a partial digital count showed Nasry Asfura to be in a statistical tie with Salvador Nasralla with Asfura leading by only 515 votes,[23] U.S. president Donald Trump alleged the election was fraudulent.[24] The CNE began a manual count that same day.[25] Later that afternoon, Salvador Nasralla had taken a lead of roughly 2,000 votes. Counting was marred by the CNE's official website crashing due to "technical problems" beginning the previous day.[26] The reporting of results was paused, resumed, then paused again the next day.[27] Rixi Moncada also criticized the vote transmission system as flawed and lacking transparency, while calling Trump's comments "a direct intervention that affects the interests of the Honduran people".[28] On 4 December, Asfura regained a narrow lead over Nasralla.[29] Nasralla then alleged the election was fraudulent,[30] and that Trump's last-minute endorsement of rival candidate Asfura cost him votes he otherwise would have obtained.[31]
On 7 December, Rixi Moncada said LIBRE did not recognize the election result, describing the process as an "ongoing electoral coup" and citing interference by Trump and the "allied oligarchy".[32] The CNE stated that approximately 14% of the tally sheets produced inconsistencies and required a review.[33] At a rally on 9 December, president Castro said the process was marked by "threats, coercion, manipulation" of the preliminary results as well as "tampering with the popular will", and criticised Trump's interference in the election.[34] Following LIBRE's refusal to recognize the results, outgoing First Gentleman, LIBRE Party leader, and former President Manuel Zelaya called for street mobilizations in support of Moncada, the ruling party's candidate.[35] During these disruptions, on 15 December, Tomás Zambrano, head of the National Party's parliamentary bloc, accused Zelaya of clinging to power, claiming he "has been the power behind the throne during these four years of the LIBRE government." He denounced what he called a "self-coup" and alleged that Zelaya was calling "his violent armed groups into the streets to prevent the special recount and thus avoid a declaration of victory."[36] Amid the protests, the CNE declared that there were acts that prevented the correct counting of the votes, while the Organization of American States (OAS) said that there was not "any evidence that would cast doubt on the results".[37]
On 16 December, President Castro, citing intelligence sources, declared that her predecessor, Juan Orlando Hernández, was planning his return to Honduras, in what she described as "an attack aimed at breaking the constitutional and democratic order." She called for protests to "defend the popular mandate, reject any coup attempt, and make it clear to the world that a new coup is being planned here." Hernández denied any plans to return to the country.[38]
On 18 December, the CNE began a long-delayed manual recount of about 15% of the votes, which it said had "inconsistencies".[39] On 19 December, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on CNE member Marlon Ochoa and Electoral Justice Tribunal magistrate Mario Morazán, accusing them of "impeding the vote count in Honduras". Both individuals are members of LIBRE.[40]
The CNE declared Asfura as the winner of the presidential election on 24 December. Asfura wrote on social media: "Honduras: I am ready to govern. I will not let you down."[41]
More than 4,000 local and international election observers monitored the election.[42]Eladio Loizaga, the head of the Organization of American States observer mission, said there was no evidence "that would cast doubt on the results", but acknowledged a lack of expertise among vote organizers. A European Union observer mission also reported that it had "not observed any serious irregularities that could affect the current preliminary results".[43]
Reactions and aftermath
Following the announcement by the CNE that Nasry Asfura had won the presidential election, international reactions emerged gradually and remained limited in the immediate aftermath of the vote. According to Reuters, the cautious response was linked to delays in vote counting and ongoing domestic disputes over the credibility of the electoral process, leading several governments to refrain from issuing immediate recognition statements.[44] The defeated candidate, Salvador Nasralla, rejected the election results, arguing that "a result should not have been declared without counting all the votes."[45] Nasralla also made a public appeal to US President Donald Trump, who had publicly supported Asfura, urging him to pressure the president-elect to allow a recount of the votes, ballot by ballot.[46] Meanwhile, outgoing president Xiomara Castro announced that she accepted the results and would leave office on the scheduled date.[47]
The United States was among the first countries to publicly welcome the announced result. U.S. officials congratulated Asfura on his victory, urged Honduran political actors to respect the outcome, and called for a peaceful transfer of power, while also expressing Washington's intention to continue cooperation with the incoming administration.[48] In Latin America, several governments issued congratulatory messages recognizing Asfura as president-elect. Spanish-language media reported that Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic conveyed their recognition either through presidential statements or joint communiqués, expressing support for democratic continuity in Honduras and willingness to work with the new administration.[49][50]Israel congratulated Asfura on his victory, agreed to work to strengthen bilateral relations, and invited him to visit the country. After his victory was declared, Asfura visited the residence of the Israeli ambassador to Honduras, an action described as "unprecedented in the country".[51] The European Union, which deployed an election observation mission to Honduras, acknowledged the announcement of the results but did not immediately issue a formal diplomatic recognition. Instead, EU representatives focused on the technical conduct of the election and emphasized transparency, respect for institutional procedures, and the peaceful resolution of post-election disputes through legal mechanisms.[52]
María Antonieta Mejía, one of Asfura's elected vice presidents, reported on 26 December that Asfura will assume the presidency on 27 January in a ceremony in National Congress, unlike the traditional inauguration at the National Stadium, stating that he wants a "symbolic and unostentatious" event to refrain from an event "that will have a large budget".[53]
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