Honduras' ruling Libre Party on Sunday called to annul the general elections, accusing US President Donald Trump of interfering in the country's democracy and its opposition of committing electoral fraud.
One week after the vote and three days since electoral authorities halted the release of results for the third time, Libre-the party of sitting President Xiomara Castro-rejected the results that place conservative and Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura as the next president.
"Libre does not recognize the elections held under the interference and coercion of United States President Donald Trump and the allied oligarchy that have struck the Honduran people with an ongoing electoral coup," said a party press release shared on social media.
Since the Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission (TREP), the system used for rapid publication of results, ceased updating, Asfura maintained a lead with 1.13 million votes over Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party who amassed 1.11 million.
The ruling party's candidate, Rixi Moncada, was overshadowed with only 543,675 votes, or 19.3%.
"It is ordered to request the total annulment of the elections and to demand an investigation into the acts of electoral terrorism carried out through the TREP transmission system, as reported in the 26 audio recordings," read the press release.
The Libre Party cited intrusion and manipulation of the TREP source code, inconsistencies in 95.17% of results, 4,659 tally sheets without biometric verification, and repeated crashes of the results portal as among the irregularities and system failures supporting its fraud allegations.
- TRUMP'S SUPPORT FOR ASFURA
Trump had publicly voiced his support for Asfura and the National Party. Through social media, he promised Honduras significant assistance if Asfura were to win.
Libre claimed that its political opposition used Trump's comments to warn voters that if the National Party did not win, the millions of dollars in remittances that Hondurans receive from their migrant relatives would be at risk.
The ruling party instructed its members to denounce what it called the "foreign interference" of Trump and called for mobilizations, local and departmental assemblies, protests, strikes, and nationwide sit-ins, as well as an extraordinary assembly on Dec. 13.
