Conservative National Party candidate Nasry Asfura, endorsed by US President Donald Trump, held a narrow lead in Honduras' presidential election on November 30, with preliminary results showing him marginally ahead in a closely contested three-way race.

The former Tegucigalpa mayor secured 40.39% of votes with 44.23% of ballots tallied, according to the country's electoral authority, whilst centre-right Liberal Party candidate Salvador Nasralla trailed with 39.20%. Ruling left-wing LIBRE party candidate Rixi Moncada, supported by incumbent President Xiomara Castro, placed a distant third with 19.42%, signalling a rightward shift in the Central American nation.

The victor requires only a simple majority to govern Honduras from 2026 to 2030, leading a country beset by poverty and waves of northward migration.

Sunday's ballot, which also decided 128 congressional seats and hundreds of mayoral positions, took place amid deep political polarisation. The three frontrunners exchanged accusations of potential electoral fraud, with Moncada suggesting she would not accept official results. Her party urged supporters to stay "on the front lines" until counting finished.

Trump intervened dramatically in the tight contest through social media posts, throwing his weight behind Asfura, a 67-year-old politician of Palestinian origin with limited experience in public administration. The US president stated he could collaborate with Asfura against drug trafficking, warning that "if he doesn't win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad."

Trump promised "a lot of support" for Honduras should his right-wing pick prevail, describing him as the "only true friend of freedom in Honduras" and expressing interest in working together to "fight the narco-communists" and oppose embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Washington provided over $193mn in assistance to Honduras during the previous fiscal year, according to the State Department. Despite recent reductions, the US has allocated more than $102mn this year. Yet the Trump administration has already slashed $167mn in economic and governance funding that had been designated for 2024 and 2025, according to congressional records.

Honduras has long been a transit country for cocaine travelling from Colombia to the US, but has recently also become a producer of the drug.

The American president's involvement extended beyond endorsements. On November 28, Trump announced plans to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, currently serving 45 years in US prison for drug trafficking and firearms offences. Hernández, who led Honduras from 2014 to 2022, belongs to Asfura's National Party, but the candidate tipped for victory has denied links to the controversial former leader. "The party is not responsible for his personal actions," Asfura told AFP.

Electoral authorities delayed publishing preliminary results for over an hour due to technical problems, prompting an angry response from Asfura. In a brief statement, he demanded that electoral council president Ana Paola Hall expedite the count. "We demand that Ana Paola Hall—I don't know what she's waiting for—come out and fulfil her duty," Asfura stated. "Let's not have a country waiting, on tenterhooks, in darkness. Do it, for the good of democracy."

Despite heightened tensions, voting proceeded largely peacefully beyond minor reports of delays, alleged impediments for electoral observers during counting, and damaged ballot boxes. More than 2.8mn people cast ballots from an eligible electorate of 6mn, representing a strong turnout.