Sawt Falasteen - Observers say Honduran election fair, but urge faster count

The Central American country has not yet certified results from the November 30 election in which Nasry Asfura, a 67-year-old right-wing businessman backed by Trump, holds a razor-thin lead.

Salvador Nasralla, a 72-year-old fellow conservative in second place, and outgoing left-wing President Xiomara Castro have alleged tampering.

Castro has accused Trump of election interference and the candidate from her leftist camp, Rixi Moncada, has called for the election to be annulled.

Eladio Loizaga, a Paraguayan diplomat who headed an Organization of American States (OAS) observer mission, said there was a lack of expertise on the part of vote organizers, but ruled out "any evidence that would cast doubt on the results."

More than 99 percent of the votes have been counted, but the CNE election council says some 2,800 tally sheets -- representing nearly half a million votes -- need to be re-examined in a special recount for alleged inconsistencies.

The CNE legally has a month to call the winner, but the OAS urged it to release the final result "as quickly as possible."

"The current delay in processing and publishing the results is not justifiable," Loizaga said in a report to OAS members.

A European Union observer mission also reported Monday to the OAS it had "not observed any serious irregularities that could affect the current preliminary results."

According to representative Despina Manos, EU observers were still on the ground, monitoring the tally.

"We are aware that with more than two weeks after the election day, with counting delays and technical setbacks, the post-electoral context remains very uncertain," Manos added.

- 'Unlawful pressure' -

Nasralla, who had held a slight lead in early tallying, is demanding a full recount.

CNE member Cossette Lopez said on X Monday that the special recount had not yet started "because unlawful pressure is being exerted on the CNE, demanding recounts outside the legal framework."

On the latest count, Nasralla trailed Asfura by just over a percentage point, or some 42,000 votes, according to his team.

Trump has come under fire for his public backing of Asfura and his threat that if his chosen candidate doesn't win, "the United States will not be throwing good money after bad."

On the eve of the vote, the US leader also issued a surprise pardon for former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez of Asfura's National Party.

Hernandez was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States, where a jury found him guilty of belonging to one of "the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world."

In what many saw as an attempt at political interference, Hernandez was released despite Trump's stated commitment to eradicating Latin American drug trafficking.

"Ever since Trump said he supported Asfura, we already knew he was going to win. The gringos (Americans) are the ones in charge," 53-year-old taxi driver Sergio Canales told AFP in Tegucigalpa.

Trump has openly sought to pick favorites in Latin American elections this year, as his administration seeks to renew its dominance in the region.

B.Mahmoud--SF-PST