Salvador Nasralla from the centrist Liberal Party moved slightly ahead in Honduras’ presidential election on Tuesday. He passed Nasry Asfura, the conservative candidate supported by US President Donald Trump. However, the vote count faced serious delays and technical failures.

At around 2:30 p.m. local time, the electoral authority released updated figures. Nasralla had 39.96% of the vote. Asfura held 39.80%. More than 60% of the votes had been counted at that point. Rixi Moncada from the ruling leftist LIBRE Party stood far behind in third place with 19.19%. On Monday, Asfura had been leading Nasralla by around 500 votes.

Earlier on Tuesday, election officials asked people to stay calm. They were struggling with a system failure that left about 20% of the votes uncounted. At the same time, Trump made strong claims of possible fraud. He also warned that “there will be hell to pay” if anyone changes the results.

System Failure Forces Manual Counting

On Monday, Honduras’ electoral authority said the race was in a “technical tie.” Both Nasralla and Asfura had just under 40% of the vote. Because of the system problems, officials said they would now count many votes by hand.

The rapid counting system faced serious issues, according to the CNE electoral authority. At the same time, the official results website stopped working for many hours on Monday. This increased tension in an already close and controversial election. Even before voting began on Sunday, several groups had raised concerns about possible fraud.

Former President Released After Trump’s Pardon

As the count continued, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was released from a U.S. prison on Monday. He had been serving a 45-year sentence for drug trafficking and firearms charges, according to U.S. prison records.

His release followed Trump’s public support for Asfura. Trump had said he would pardon Hernandez. On Tuesday, a White House official confirmed that Trump had indeed pardoned him.

Trump Makes Strong Claims Without Evidence

On Monday, Trump posted about the election on social media. He claimed, without proof, that Honduras was “trying to change the results of their Presidential Election.”

He added, “If they do there will be hell to pay! The people of Honduras voted in overwhelming numbers on November 30th.”

Before the election, Trump had already shown strong support for Asfura. He said he could work with him to fight drug trafficking. At the same time, he called Moncada a “communist,” but did not provide any evidence.

High Turnout but Growing Tension

Despite the problems, voter turnout on Sunday was high. The election remained mostly peaceful. The Organization of American States, which observed the vote, said it “was able to verify that the voting proceeded normally, except for isolated incidents in some municipalities of the country.”

However, concerns remain. If the counting process continues to drag on, protests and violence could break out in the highly tense political environment.

To avoid confusion, the electoral authority said it would now share vote updates directly with media organisations and political parties. This step aims to improve transparency.

Strong Reactions From Honduran Leaders

Former President Manuel Zelaya, who is also the husband of current President Xiomara Castro, criticised Trump’s involvement. He said on X that Trump was trying to stop Moncada’s campaign. He also promised that Honduran citizens would protect democracy.

“We who fight for liberty are on our feet,” he wrote. “We are patriots and nobody yields.”

Moncada also responded on Monday night. She said the elections were “still not lost.” She accused the other parties of manipulating the process. She also condemned what she described as interference from the United States.