On March 9, 2025, Honduras held its primary elections to select candidates for more than 3,000 public offices, including the presidency, vice presidencies, mayorships, and congressional seats. Three major political parties participated: (1) the ruling Liberty and Refoundation (Libre) party, (2) the Liberal Party of Honduras, and (3) the National Party of Honduras.
The general elections will take place on November 30.
Minor parties, such as the Salvador Party (PSH), did not run primaries. The PSH argued this would save National Electoral Council’s (CNE) taxpayer funding. Instead, the party will conduct its own internal selection and will register the list of candidates prior to the general elections.
A week before the primaries, the CNE announced the deployment of 26,000 military personnel and 1,000 electoral observers to ensure a transparent process. However, severe irregularities—including delays in opening polling stations, a lack of ballot-box security, and unscheduled power outages—marred the election. Further, fights and protest blockades broke out on different streets in Tegucigalpa, the capital city.
With around 30 percent of the ballots counted, preliminary results suggest the following:
- Rixi Moncada, the current minister of defense, has emerged as the Libre presidential nominee, securing 93 percent of the votes.
- Nasry Asfura will be the presidential candidate for the National Party, with 76 percent of the votes.
- Salvador Nasralla, from the Liberal Party, has won his presidential nomination with 59 percent of the votes.
Although these results are preliminary, the margins of victory suggest a clear indication of each party’s likely nominee for the general elections in November.
Crippling Irregularities
Of the 5.8 million registered voters in Honduras, approximately 1.3 million were unable to access polling stations, which were supposed to open at 7:00 a.m. Many locations experienced delays of up to 12 hours due to missing electoral materials.
Frustrated by the delays, voters engaged in protests as they waited for electoral materials to arrive. Some polling stations lacked ballot boxes entirely, while others received boxes destined for elsewhere and with the incorrect identification. The most affected polling stations were in the two major urban centers—San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa. This was perhaps on account of their logistical complexities with dense populations and, assuming some foul play, weight on the outcomes.
Voting was originally scheduled to end at 5:00 p.m. However, the CNE extended polling hours in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula until 9:00 p.m., or until the last voter in line had cast his ballot.
Citizens and candidates denounced breaches to electoral standards for transparency and security. Military officers, for example, transported some ballot boxes on public buses after the voting ended. Leading CNE magistrate Cossette López blamed the Armed Forces and the private transportation company—hired for this purpose—for these irregularities. She said the military failed to notify the CNE about the swapping of 10 trucks for 90 buses for ballot transportation.
The Armed Forces, which oversee electoral security, fall under the leadership of Defense Minister Moncada, who is now also the Libre presidential nominee. Opposition leaders and even members of Libre have criticized Moncada for refusing to step down from her ministerial role during the primaries.
Rasel Tomé, another Libre presidential candidate, issued a statement condemning Honduran President Xiomara Castro for allegedly favoring Moncada. This controversy is particularly relevant given Moncada’s political trajectory: she resigned as finance minister on December 31, 2023, in compliance with electoral regulations. Then Castro reincorporated her as defense minister in September 2024, just months before the primaries.
Concerns over electoral integrity have led to widespread dissatisfaction among political leaders and voters. Both the National Party and the Liberal Party issued statements expressing their disapproval and urging the CNE to uphold transparency and democracy.
José Moncada, a legislative candidate from the Liberal Party, told the Impunity Observer his party was the most harmed by the electoral mismanagement. He expected stronger voter turnout for his party, particularly from the elderly, in locations where polling stations did not open on time. José Moncada emphasized the constitutional violations committed during the electoral process:
“According to Article 272, the Armed Forces failed to fulfill a constitutional obligation. Clearly, this event leaves a negative image of the electoral system, particularly the CNE… While some polling stations opened up to 12 hours late, two did not open at all. Despite this, people stood in line until 3:00 a.m. to cast their votes.”
Power Blackouts
Honduras has been struggling with energy shortages, leading the government to implement scheduled power outages. However, the National Electric Energy Company (ENEE) announced it would suspend blackouts on March 9 to ensure an uninterrupted voting process.
Despite this announcement, Liberal Party presidential candidate Jorge Cálix reported that voters in Tegucigalpa were casting ballots in the dark due to unexpected power failures. In response, ENEE claimed the blackout resulted from an internal failure at the polling station located at the Agustín Alonso School rather than a broader failure, arguing that the national power supply remained stable.
