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Eight countries from Latin America and the Caribbean rejected this Saturday the decree by President Xiomara Castro that orders a general recount of votes in Honduras and reaffirmed the recognition of Nasry Asfura as the elected president, following the elections on November 30.
In a joint statement released on January 10, the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, and the Dominican Republic expressed their “strong rejection” of the decree enacted by Castro, arguing that it undermines the authority of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and threatens the democratic institutions of the country.
The signatory states also condemned the acts of violence against opposition members recorded last Thursday and denounced any act of political violence aimed at disrupting the outcome expressed at the polls.
In this regard, they reaffirmed their recognition of the proclamation issued by the competent electoral body, which declared Asfura the elected president of the Republic of Honduras, following elections validated by international observation missions.
The statement emphasizes that these observers confirmed the will of millions of Hondurans freely expressed in the elections held on November 30.
Similarly, the governments urged all Honduran political forces to respect the democratic order, ensure a peaceful transition, and prioritize dialogue, while expressing their confidence that the Honduran people will know how to defend the values of freedom and democracy.
The regional statement comes amid a significant escalation of political tensions in Honduras, following Castro's defense of Legislative Decree No. 58-2025, which was approved by 69 deputies and orders the CNE to conduct a general recount of votes and ballots.
The official has reported that the electoral body refused to count 4,774 ballots, which would represent the votes of more than 1.5 million citizens, and that it left unresolved 292 challenges due to alleged irregularities.
However, with 97% of the votes counted, the CNE keeps Asfura in the lead with 40.5%, closely followed by Salvador Nasralla, with 39.1%, separated by about 40,000 votes.
In contrast, the official candidate Rixi Moncada came in third place with 19.3%, a result after which Castro declared the elections "null" and supported calls for protests and mobilizations.
The crisis has been exacerbated by episodes of violence, including an attack with an explosive device that injured opposition lawmaker Gladis Aurora López in the National Congress.
While the Organization of American States (OAS) has called for an expedited counting process to reduce uncertainty, governments like that of the United States have urged respect for the results, whereas regional allies of Castro, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua, have supported his allegations of fraud.
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