Incriminating audio. A military demanding oversight. And a powerful leader from abroad, trying to sway voters to the right.<\/p>\n
Those are just three of the scandals that have made Sunday\u2019s presidential election in Honduras one of the most closely watched votes in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Already, even before the polls have opened, some high-level politicians are alleging that a stolen vote is under way.<\/p>\n Outgoing President Xiomara Castro, for instance, has compared the situation to a \u201ccriminal conspiracy aimed at staging an electoral coup\u201d.<\/p>\n But experts who spoke to Al Jazeera said that the public has grown accustomed to the uncertainty and upheaval.<\/p>\n After all, Honduras\u2019s democracy is only about four decades old, and during that time, the country has struggled with government corruption and even a coup d\u2019etat.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, there\u2019s a fear of violence or a coup,\u201d said Daniel Valladares, an activist and history professor at the National Autonomous University of Honduras. \u201cBut it\u2019s a fear we\u2019ve always had.\u201d<\/p>\n In the final days before the election, Valladares has observed a tense calm grip the Central American country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe environment is normal,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the same thing people always say: \u2018I hope there isn\u2019t a sh** show.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Part of the uncertainty ahead of this year\u2019s election stems from the poll numbers. None of the five presidential candidates on the ballot holds a definitive lead.<\/p>\n There are, however, three frontrunners, considered to be neck and neck in the race.<\/p>\n Voters on Sunday are most likely to choose between Rixi Moncada, the candidate for Castro\u2019s left-leaning LIBRE Party; Salvador Nasralla of the centre-right Liberal Party; and Nasry \u201cTito\u201d Asfura of the conservative National Party.<\/p>\n None of the three has definitively pulled ahead, and voter surveys have fluctuated wildly.<\/p>\n For instance, one poll<\/a> conducted by the Instituto de la Justicia found Moncada trailing. She had 25 percent support, compared with Asfura\u2019s 31 percent and Nasralla\u2019s 40.<\/p>\n Another poll, meanwhile, showed Moncada in the lead. More than 44 percent of those surveyed by the Mexican firm TResearch backed the left-wing candidate, compared with 19.6 percent for Nasralla and 14.8 percent for Asfura.<\/p>\n Other surveys<\/a> have shown the three candidates in a virtual tie.<\/p>\n That ambiguity has led to recriminations from the major parties in the election, with each side accusing the other of manipulating the vote.<\/p>\n Asfura, for instance, has accused the governing LIBRE party of wielding \u201cpressure\u201d and \u201cabuse\u201d against election officials. He threatened to mobilise his supporters in protest.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, we are going to take to the streets so that there are elections and so that there is democracy and freedom,\u201d he told the television network HCH.<\/p>\n Moncada, meanwhile, alleged at one of her rallies that there was an \u201cillicit\u201d partnership between rival parties to \u201csteal the elections\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will take the necessary measures to defend the vote of every Honduran man and woman,\u201d she told the crowd.<\/p>\n The heated rhetoric stems from several scandals. But one of the most prominent erupted in late October.<\/p>\n A government body known as the National Electoral Council (CNE) organises the country\u2019s elections. It is composed of three officials, selected to represent the country\u2019s three main political parties.<\/p>\n But on October 29, Marlon Ochoa, the LIBRE representative, delivered audio to prosecutors that purported to capture a conversation between his CNE colleague Cossette Lopez and an unnamed military official.<\/p>\n In the recording, Lopez, who represents the right-leaning National Party, allegedly discusses plans to sabotage the electoral process by \u201caltering the popular vote\u201d and staging a possible boycott.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I am sure of is that the military is on our side,\u201d Lopez allegedly said.<\/p>\n Attorney General Johel Zelaya has asserted that the recording is real, and he has opened an investigation into the incident.<\/p>\n But Congressional Deputy Tomas Zambrano, who is also featured on the recording, maintained the audio is \u201ctotally false, fabricated and manipulated with artificial intelligence\u201d.<\/p>\n He and Asfura have defended Lopez, framing the investigation as a campaign to undermine her authority.<\/p>\n But the audio scandal was not the only conflict to shake the CNE.<\/p>\n Also in October, the head of Honduras\u2019s armed forces, Roosevelt Hernandez, demanded that the military be allowed to conduct its own count of the upcoming election results.<\/p>\n Hernandez is perceived to be allied with LIBRE. Ana Paola Hall, the president of the CNE and a member of the Liberal Party, denounced his demand as \u201cinterference\u201d in the election process.<\/p>\n Watchdog groups have echoed those concerns. Human Rights Watch, for instance, issued a statement saying the military \u201cdoes not have any authority to access, count, transmit or review the results\u201d.<\/p>\n Adding to the election turmoil is pressure from abroad.<\/p>\n Honduras\u2019s largest trading partner is the United States, and the two countries have closely collaborated on issues like combating drug trafficking.<\/p>\n But right-wing leaders in the US have spread false information before Sunday\u2019s election, stirring further fears about the integrity of the election.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in personally on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n He endorsed Asfuro while falsely describing the conservative candidate\u2019s two closest rivals as puppets of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.<\/p>\n A Moncada victory, Trump wrote<\/a>, would hand the country over to \u201cMaduro and his narco-terrorists\u201d. And Nasralla, the US president alleged, is a \u201cborderline Communist\u201d who seeks to split the right-wing vote.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Communists are trying to trick the people by running a third Candidate, Salvador Nasralla,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cThe people of Honduras must not be tricked again. The only real friend of Freedom in Honduras is Tito Asfura.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump is not alone in turning up the heat from the US.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-11-27T120054Z_1161053874_RC2G4IA9O8H3_RTRMADP_3_HONDURAS-ELECTION-CANDIDATES-1764336598.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C385&quality=80\")
Unclear poll results<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-11-21T021642Z_1646447757_RC2A0IABZ3RQ_RTRMADP_3_HONDURAS-ELECTION-1764336671.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C514&quality=80\")
Infighting at the election council<\/h2>\n
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Trump weighs in<\/h2>\n
![\"Nasry](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025-11-23T023904Z_724227147_RC2T1IAX9WVJ_RTRMADP_3_HONDURAS-ELECTION-ASFURA-1764336652.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80\")