Escalating political pressure on electoral authorities threatens Hondurans' right to vote in free and fair elections, Human Rights Watch said today.
Honduras will hold general elections on November 30, 2025, for the president, all 128 National Congress members, and 20 Central American Parliament members. In recent weeks, the Attorney General's Office has opened criminal investigations targeting top electoral authorities. Meanwhile, deadlock within the National Electoral Council (CNE) has repeatedly delayed awarding contracts to organize the election. Allegations of fraud leveled by President Xiomara Castro, as well as members of opposition parties, also undermine the credibility of the electoral process.
"Allegations of possible fraud, aggressive moves by both prosecutors and the army, and political deadlock in the electoral authority are threatening Hondurans' right to participate in free and fair elections," said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "International election observation missions should closely monitor the process and press Honduran authorities to ensure that election conditions are free and fair."
Since 2019, the electoral authority has been split between the Electoral Justice Tribunal (TJE), the highest authority on matters of electoral justice, and the CNE, which administers the electoral process. Both institutions are composed of three principal members, elected by a two-thirds vote in Congress. The appointments of members to the council and the tribunal stemmed from a political agreement among the Nacional, Liberal, and Libre parties, the largest in the country, with each securing one seat on each body. In recent months, tensions among the council members have paralyzed the CNE.
On October 29, Attorney General Johel Zelaya announced an investigation into Cossette López, the council member from the Nacional party, accusing her of plotting to manipulate the electoral results. Zelaya cited an audio recording, which López says was manipulated. President Castro described the disputed recordings as part of a "criminal conspiracy aimed at provoking an electoral coup."
On November 10, prosecutors opened an investigation against two judges from the tribunal, alleging that they acted unlawfully by approving a resolution with just two of the three judges present.
On November 9, the council tested its nationwide system to transmit preliminary election results on election night. Councilor Marlon Ochoa from the Libre Party said the test had failed and that "there is a conspiracy against the electoral process from within the electoral body itself."
The armed forces joint chiefs of staff chairman asked the council to provide the army with a copy of the presidential vote tally sheet on election day. Ana Paola Hall, the council president, said she rejected this request. The army has the constitutional duty to support the transportation of electoral materials on election day, but does not have any authority to access, count, transmit, or review the results.
On November 20, the armed forces filed a complaint before the Attorney General's Office seeking to initiate a criminal action for defamation against López.
In this context of growing distrust and allegations of fraud, the role of independent domestic and international election observation missions will be critical to preserving the credibility of the process, Human Rights Watch said.
The Organization of American States observation mission has expressed concern about "frequent actions and statements-practically on a daily basis-that generate uncertainty and destabilize the electoral process" and raised concerns about "excessive judicial intervention" in the elections. The European Union has also deployed an election observation mission to Honduras. On November 18, the EU expressed concern over developments that could undermine Honduras's electoral institutions ahead of the elections, saying that the authorities and political parties should ensure that electoral bodies can operate independently and transparently.
