Honduras Electoral Results System Ends but Vote Counting Continues

Tegucigalpa.- The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Honduras, Ana Paola Hall, reported this Monday that the Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission (TREP) system has finished, with more than 50% of the ballots counted, but the count of Sunday's general elections will continue to be broadcast on the electoral body's website. «I want to inform you that the TREP has finished and a few hours ago, with 57.03% of the transmitted records, a difference of 515 votes was reflected between the presidential candidates of the PLH (Liberal Party of Honduras) and PN (National Party), Hall indicated on the social network X. He added that given the technical tie registered between the candidates Nasry Asfura, of the National Party, and Salvador Nasralla, of the Liberal Party, "we must remain calm, be patient and wait for the CNE to finish counting contingency records 1 and 2. And that, subsequently, the special scrutiny process is carried out, in order to finalize the general scrutiny. The function of the TREP, which is to report preliminarily in a short time, also contributes to lowering the tension of citizens who demand to know the results of the CNE immediately, guaranteeing legal certainty.

Criticism of the TREP by Rixi Moncada

Regarding the TREP, the presidential candidate of the ruling Liberty and Refoundation Party (Libre, left), Rixi Moncada, said before the elections that she would not accept its results for being "fraudulent" and "managed by seven private companies," creating suspicion among some voters. "Patience and prudence, the peace with which the process was lived must be maintained until it concludes, with the declaration of results," Hall expressed in response to claims regarding the suspension of the TREP. In the opinion of analyst Osiris Payes, the TREP "is an integral system that combines scanning, automatic recognition, guided human correction, and encrypted transmission" and "if any of these components fail, the reliability level of the process is compromised." Despite the progress made in general by the electoral system of the Central American country, the results are still slow, which creates distrust among the population. For the CNE to announce the final results of Sunday, it has 30 days, but if the count on its website processes them in less time, the official report declaring the electoral process finished could be known before Christmas.