Elections in Honduras

Elections will be held in Honduras on November 30: 128 members of Congress, 20 members of Parliament, and a new president will be elected. The current Minister of Defense, Rixi Moncada, is running for the left-wing government under Xiomara Castro (LIBRE). Her opponents are sports commentator Salvador Nasralla from the right-wing Partido Liberal and Nasry Asfura from the also right-wing Partido Nacional. The parties of these two candidates had alternated in power before Castro's LIBRE won the election in 2021. They are notable primarily for their close ties to drug trafficking and the corruption associated with it.

These elections are being viewed with concern both within the country and internationally: there were already logistical problems during the primaries in March. Added to this are mutual accusations of fraud by the candidates and warnings of an “electoral coup” in Honduras by the right wing. Attorney General Johel Zelaya filed charges against three representatives of the electoral authority CNE who allegedly agreed in audio messages to “alter the election [results].” Right-wing groups such as the Foro de Madrid, on the other hand, accuse Castro and Zelaya of being part of a drug trafficking network led by Venezuelan President Maduro, as reported by Confidencial. In addition, there have already been reports of illegal campaign financing linked to organized crime and violence against politicians in the run-up to the election. Ana María Méndez Dardón and Juan Pappier comment in El País that this makes international observation missions around the election all the more important.

Redaction: Ulli Jentsch