Honduras Presidential Candidates Locked in ‘Technical Tie’, Official Says

The two leading candidates to be president of Honduras were locked in a “technical tie” on Monday, with a razor-thin margin separating them.
As of Monday afternoon, there were just 515 votes separating right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura from his nearest challenger, Salvador Nasralla, a former TV host standing for the country’s centrist party.
The head of the electoral commission called for “patience and prudence” while the result was tallied, but officials have not released an update since, leading to confusion and growing tensions among voters about the status of the race.
The website of the electoral council has also collapsed, adding to public fears about problems with the count.
On Monday night, US President Donald Trump, who is a vocal backer of Asfura, claimed counting had “abruptly stopped”, and accused officials of “trying to change the results” of the election.
Trump said there would be “hell to pay”, having previously threatened to cut off aid to Honduras if Asfura was not elected.
The President of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Ana Paola Hall has not released an update since around 13:00 local time, when 57% of the vote had been counted.
In that update, Hall said the process was continuing to play out but has not commented since.
The outgoing president, Xiomara Castro of the left-wing Libre party, was barred by the constitution from standing for a second term. She backed Rixi Moncada.
Officials said turnout was expected to be strong among the 6.5m registered voters, but no official figures have yet been released.
Many Hondurans had a sense that this would not be an entirely straightforward election but few would have foreseen the vote count being this close.
The collapse of the official election website, apparently due to high traffic, has only compounded fears among voters of problems with the count.
People are keen to avoid an extended period of uncertainty or legal challenges over the result, which could be the case if the numbers remain close.
Shortly before casting their ballots, voters at a farmers’ market in Tegucigalpa spoke of their desire for change.
Nciole Castillo speak to the BBC from her market stall in Tegucigalpa. She has her hair tied back and is wearing glasses and a white tank top. She is smiling into the camera.