Browse Honduras Daily Stories

A former National Electoral Council representative endorsed electoral reforms including a presidential runoff system, citizen-selected voting boards to replace party representatives, and independent selection of electoral council members, citing concerns about fraud and legitimacy.

A Libre congresswoman said her party opposes electoral law reforms presented to Congress this week unless Libre gains representation on the National Electoral Council and Electoral Justice Court, arguing it merits a seat as one of the three largest political forces.

Congressman Antonio Rivera Callejas says Congress will vote to extend by three to five months the deadline for the CNE electoral board to seat its third full board member, allowing it to meet quorum with a substitute member in the interim.

Civil-society organizations are pressing Congress to prioritize electoral reforms including a presidential runoff, depoliticization of voting boards, and strengthening of electoral institutions, but lawmakers have not yet scheduled debate on substantive changes ahead of 2029 elections.

A former member of Honduras's National Electoral Council expressed concern that interim leadership lacks clear authority to make key decisions needed for the 2029 general elections and future electoral reforms.

Lawyer Aixa Gabriela Zelaya Gómez has assumed the presidency of Honduras's National Electoral Council (CNE) following her appointment as interim council member by Congress under Decree 135-2026.

The Committee for the Defense of Human Rights says Honduras needs an electoral council independent of political parties and opposes the return of two current counselors to their posts to ensure transparent 2029 elections.

Electoral council members Ana Paola Hall and Cossette López presented a 2,000-page report alleging that the 2025 election faced institutional pressure from the military and prosecutors, counting obstruction, and threats including arrest warrants against them, while asserting no fraud occurred.

Congress appointed Eduardo Fuentes and Aixa Zelaya as interim members of the National Electoral Council (CNE) to replace Cossette López and Ana Paola Hall, who took diplomatic posts abroad, amid opposition lawmakers' protests that the substitutions lack legal standing.

A defamation complaint filed by lawyer Cossette López against Marlon Ochoa has been sent to trial court after reconciliation failed; Ochoa was removed as a National Electoral Council member in April following a congressional impeachment vote.

Former presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla called for scrapping and replacing the National Electoral Council, arguing it is controlled by political parties and risks repeating fraud in the 2029 elections, echoing concerns raised by Honduras's anticorruption council.

A transportation entrepreneur says the electoral authority owes his company 37 million lempiras (about $1.5 million) for services provided during Honduras's primary elections, claiming delayed payment has pushed his business toward collapse.

The National Congress, with backing from 93 lawmakers across four parties, appointed interim leaders to the National Electoral Council and Electoral Court to fill vacancies and cover leaves of absence, ensuring continuity of electoral operations.

A congressman has proposed replacing unanimity with simple majority voting and reducing quorum requirements at Honduras's National Electoral Council and Electoral Court to break deadlocks, amid current staffing vacancies and absences that have raised concerns about institutional stability.

Ana Paola Hall and Cossette López, councillors of Honduras's National Electoral Council, have requested a one-year leave beginning July 1, requiring Congress to appoint temporary replacements from a previous pool of vetted candidates.

The head of Honduras's electoral commission has proposed eliminating the unanimity requirement for decisions by the electoral council and electoral court, replacing it with simple-majority voting to speed up electoral processes, though opposition parties worry it could weaken consensus-building.

Elections for new leaders of Honduras's electoral bodies—the CNE and TJE—will likely slip from this year into January 2027 due to lack of consensus among congressional factions, says the head of Congress's Electoral Commission.

Congress is naming new members to Honduras's electoral bodies, the CNE and Electoral Tribunal, while the Electoral Affairs Commission plans initial reforms for July and deeper changes—including biometric voting—for October, pending agreement among political factions.