By Laura Garcia
TEGUCIGALPA, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Honduran election officials on Monday resumed releasing updated results for the November 30 presidential election after a three-day reporting pause, with the latest count showing National Party candidate Nasry Asfura leading by just over 20,000 votes.
With 89% of the ballots tallied, Asfura, a 67-year-old former Tegucigalpa mayor who has received open backing from U.S. President Donald Trump, had 40.21% of the vote. Salvador Nasralla, a television host and three-time presidential hopeful, trailed with 39.50%. Rixi Moncada, the ruling Libre Party's candidate and a former leftist minister, was in third place with 19.28%, roughly half the support of her two main rivals.
"After carrying out the necessary technical actions (with external auditing), the data is now being updated in the results," Ana Paola Hall, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), said on X.
She urged candidates to remain alert and file any legal challenges as required.
The count was frozen on Friday afternoon with some 88% of the ballots processed.
About 14% of tally sheets showed inconsistencies and will be reviewed, the CNE said.
The prolonged count has prompted international election monitors to call on Honduran authorities to speed up the process and take steps to restore public confidence in the results.
Nasralla has alleged fraud, while Moncada has demanded the annulment of the entire election and said her party is calling for protests and strikes.
On Monday, streets in Tegucigalpa and other cities remained calm. But memories linger of the contested 2017 vote, when security forces opened fire on protesters, killing at least 16 people, according to a U.N. report. About 30 people were killed in total as mass protests swept the country.
The November 30 vote unfolded peacefully, according to independent observers. But the release of results has been chaotic, with fluctuations fueling frustration over the tight race. CNE officials have blamed the company behind the tabulation platform for the slow count.
(Reporting by Laura Garcia in Tegucigalpa and Diego Ore in Mexico City, Writing by Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey, Mexico; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
