US President Donald Trump claims that Honduras ended the counting of votes in the presidential election prematurely.
“It appears that Honduras is trying to change the results of the presidential election. If so, they will pay dearly“, the American leader wrote in Truth Social. He did not specify who he believes may have committed such actions.
“On November 30, the people of Honduras voted en masse“, Trump added. He believes that the National Electoral Council of Honduras “suddenly stopped“ processing the ballots at midnight on November 30. "The count showed a close race between Tito Asfura and Salvador Nasralla, with Asfura having a slight lead of 500 votes," the US president added. "The count stopped when only 47% of the ballots had been processed." The head of the administration in Washington believes it is "critically important" that the council "continue to count the votes." "The votes of thousands of Hondurans must be counted. Democracy must prevail," he stressed.
According to exit poll data from Poll HN, published on the social media page of the ruling Party for Freedom and Reconstruction (LIBRE), its candidate Rixi Moncada won the election. Moncada received 38.06% of the vote. Nasralla of the center-right Liberal Party of Honduras came in second with 32.40%. Asfura of the conservative National Party of Honduras came in third with 23.38%. The presidential election is a single-round, first-past-the-post election.
Earlier, Trump urged Hondurans to vote for Asfura. He called Moncada a communist and Nasralla "almost a communist". Trump called Asfura "a friend of freedom". The US leader pledged Washington's full support for Honduras if the National Party candidate wins. He also announced a pardon for former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, a party member of Asfura's, who was serving a 45-year sentence in the United States on drug trafficking charges.