TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — More than a week after Hondurans voted to elect a new president, results continue to trickle in as complaints grow about the slow process and allegations of irregularities by the three top candidates.
The election to pick a new president and Congress was held on Nov. 30 and as of Monday, 88% of the ballots have been counted.
The two leading candidates are Nasry Asfura, of the conservative National Party, who has 40.21% of the votes and Salvador Nasralla, of the also conservative Liberal Party, who has 39.49%.
Rixi Moncada, who ran for the ruling social democrat LIBRE, or Liberty and Re-foundation party, is in third place with 19.28% of the votes.
Moncada on Sunday raised questions about the tally and said the elections should be annulled.
“LIBRE does not recognize the elections held under the interference and coercion of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the allied oligarchy that have attacked the Honduran people with an ongoing electoral coup,” Moncada said.
Days before the election, U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Asfura and announced his pardon of ex-President Juan Orlando Hernández, who belongs to the same party and last year was sentenced to 45 years in a U.S. prison for helping move tons of cocaine.
The website Honduran electoral authorities set up to share vote tallies with the public has crashed several times since going online, leaving Hondurans with uncertainty about the process.
Eduardo Fuentes, election director of the National Electoral Council, asked Hondurans for patience and on Monday told The Associated Press that the vote is being done in the correct way and according to the law, which gives the council 30 days to complete the count.
He blamed the website’s technical problems on the Colombian company that manages it.
Fuentes said that following the election, the vote-counting process occurs in several stages, each requiring varying amounts of time.
He said that after voting concludes, all polling place tally sheets must be scanned and sent digitally to the council's central collection center to begin processing and tabulating results. Preliminary results are then released on election night through the Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission, or TREP, website.
The council then addresses the tally sheets that were scanned but could not be transmitted to the council due to a bad internet connection. After that, officials then process the tally sheets that could neither be scanned nor sent digitally because of lack of electricity and internet connection.
Those sheets must then be physically sent to the council. This is where the vote count is at the current moment, Fuentes said.
“The tally sheets are extracted from all boxes, scanned, and incorporated to the official count. We’re at that stage now, which began,” Sunday, Fuentes added.
That process is very important — it will process 7,776 tally sheets with issues, of which 2,294 are for a presidential candidate and could make a significant difference between the two top candidates, who are now separated by about 20,000 votes. The other 5,482 tally sheets were for congress people and mayors.
If after this stage, the margin between Nasralla and Asfura narrows, a special recount will decide the election.
Fuentes said that during the special recount all tally sheets with inconsistencies, errors, or those that were not sent back because of electricity or internet problems or both will be processed.
“We will determine which ballot boxes go to the special recount, and those will undergo a new count with a new tally sheet issued,” he said.
“Once the special recount is completed, the general count concludes and a declaration of results is issued,” he said.
The time required for this entire process will depend on the number of tally sheets needing correction but could take seven to eight days,” he said.
If there is a special recount, the CNE will establish 150 Special Verification Boards, each comprised of one representative from each party, one from the electoral council, an international observer and a representative from an auditing company. Additionally, prosecutors from the Special Electoral Crimes Prosecutor’s Office will be requested to attend, and cameras will always be present.
The recount will be conducted continuously, 24 hours a day, with two 12-hour shifts, Fuentes said.
Supporters of the ruling party LIBRE, Liberty and Refoundation, cheer their presidential candidate Rixi Moncada, center top, at the party's headquarters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Ana Paola Hall, president of the National Electoral Council, explains the pauses in the result reporting of Sunday's election to reporters in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Screens show the results of the ongoing vote count of Sunday's presidential election at a National Electoral Council facility in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Iranian fired drones towards Saudi Arabia and Kuwait early Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump sent contradictory signals about how long the war could last, fueling uncertainty that’s causing markets to swing.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said it has destroyed drones over the kingdom’s oil-rich eastern region, while in Kuwait, the National Guard said it shot some down in the county’s northern and southern areas.
Iran’s latest attacks on neighboring Gulf States come as Trump late Monday told Republican lawmakers that the war was likely to be a “short excursion,” but hours later threatened in a post on social media that the U.S. would dramatically increase attacks if Iran tried to close the Strait of Hormuz.
In an apparent response to Trump’s remarks published in Iranian state media, a spokesperson for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Ali Mohammad Naini, said “Iran will determine when the war ends.”
Here is the latest:
Amin Nasser, the president and CEO of Aramco, said the firm remained “focused on safety and meeting our commitments.”
“That situation continues to evolve, and the safety of our people and our operations remain our highest priorities,” Nasser said.
He did not immediately elaborate on any effects from the war on the company’s output.
Nasser hinted at global oil markets being squeezed the longer the Iran war goes on and shipments from the Mideast being affected.
“Given the current geopolitical situation, we may see inventories eroding and being drawn down faster as shipments are being curtailed from the region,” he said. “This is at a time when current global spare capacity remains extremely low.”
That likely could push the price per barrel globally even higher, translating to higher costs for gasoline and jet fuel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday that Israel will continue striking Iran.
“Our aim is to bring the Iranian people to cast off the yoke of tyranny, ultimately it depends on them,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Israel’s hospital and health system leaders.
“But there is no doubt that with the actions taken so far, we are breaking their bones,” he said.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told government agencies and state companies to begin having staff not in public facing roles to work from home.
The government said Tuesday that Thailand was also suspending overseas training and study trips.
The announcement comes as countries in Southeast Asia move to counter disruptions to oil and gas supplies from the war in the Middle East.
The Vietnamese government ordered similar measures, but also urged people to limit private use of their vehicles.
Fuel prices have climbed and long lines have formed outside filling stations as drivers and motorcycle riders rush to ensure they can fill their tanks.
Iran’s parliament speaker on Tuesday dismissed any suggestion Tehran sought a ceasefire in the war.
“We are definitely not looking for a ceasefire; we believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that he learns a lesson so that he will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X.
“The Zionist regime sees its shameful existence in the continuation of the cycle of ‘war-negotiation-ceasefire and then war again’ to consolidate its dominance. We will break this cycle,” he wrote.
The Israeli military said Tuesday it killed three Palestinians in Gaza late Monday.
The Palestinians approached Israeli troops near the temporary line that Israel withdrew to at the start of the October 2025 ceasefire. The Yellow Line marks the Israel-controlled area in eastern Gaza.
Since the start of the ceasefire, at least 80 Palestinians have been killed near the Yellow Line after the Israeli military accused them of approaching and endangering soldiers.
Israel’s military said it detected an Iranian missile launch targeting the country Tuesday morning.
Sirens were heard in Jerusalem and explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv as Israel’s military worked to intercept the fire.
India’s oil ministry has set up a committee to review supplies of commercial cooking gas as the hospitality sector experiences a shortage of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders.
India relies heavily on oil and gas shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has attacked several ships in the strait and threatened any ships that try to pass through, effectively closing it.
Industry groups in India say restaurants in some major cities including Mumbai and Bengaluru are struggling to secure cooking gas cylinders. They warn some eateries could shut within days if supplies are not restored.
Indian authorities have prioritized LPG supplies for household use, tightening availability for commercial users such as hotels and restaurants.
Azerbaijan has sent humanitarian aid to Iran, Azerbaijani officials said Monday.
The aid includes 10 tons of flour, six tons of rice, more than two tons of sugar, over four tons of water, about 600 kilograms of tea and about two tons of medicines and medical supplies, according to officials.
The move comes after tensions spiked between Baku and Tehran last week when Azerbaijan accused Iran of firing drones at its Nakhchivan exclave, an allegation Tehran denies.
Azerbaijan also has increased military and economic ties with Israel.
Iran’s judiciary is warning its local media about what and how it reports as the war with Israel and the United States goes on.
That was a comment made by judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir as reported by the state-run IRNA news agency.
It said Jahangir said local outlets “that did not comply with security issues and had taken videos and photos of certain places solely for the purpose of informing were given the necessary warnings.”
“If this happens again, the necessary legal measures will be taken,” he said, without elaborating.
Iran has shut off the internet during the war and may be restricting reporting to hide what has been struck so far.
Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday the Patriot missile defense system is being deployed in Malatya province, which hosts a NATO radar base.
The move follows NATO defenses intercepting a second ballistic missile fired from Iran that entered Turkish airspace Monday.
The Israeli military on Tuesday reiterated the call for all residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes as it planned to “operate forcefully” in the southern area against Hezbollah.
Israel issued similar warnings during its war with Hezbollah in 2003-2024, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
The Iraqi military has condemned an attack early Tuesday on a camp for an umbrella of Iranian-backed groups in northern Iraq.
The airstrike on 40th Brigade of the Popular Mobilization Forces in the city of Kirkuk killed five and wounded four, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
The military described the strikes as “a blatant targeting of Iraq.”
Iraq for years has had to walk a tightrope between the U.S. and Iranian-allied Shiite groups, including some that are part of the government.
The Israeli military said Tuesday it had completed a series of strikes targeting Hezbollah’s financial arm, al-Qard Al-Hasan.
Israel says Hezbollah uses al-Qard al-Hasan to finance its military activities.
Israel targeted several of the group’s branches in southern and eastern Lebanon last week.
Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco reported 2025 profits of $104 billion, down from the year before as the Iran war has seen its fields and facilities targeted.
Aramco released its annual results Tuesday. It planned to brief investors later in the day as the war that began Feb. 28 has seen Iranian drones and missiles target its facilities.
Aramco, formally known as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., reported profits of $110 billion in 2024.
Aramco said its 2025 revenues were $445 billion, down from $480 billion in 2024.
The United Arab Emirates will lower the volume of missile alerts sent to mobile phones in the overnight hours.
The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority made the announcement late Monday night, saying that the loud blaring alarm would sound on phones from 9 a.m. until 10:30 p.m.
A standard text message chime would sound from 10:30 p.m. until 9 a.m., it said.
The blaring klaxon had sounded in the middle of the night since the war began Feb. 28. The change in the alerts signals how Gulf Arab states are trying to adjust to the idea of the war grinding onward as there’s no immediate sign of an end to the conflict.
Egypt hiked fuel prices by up to 17% on Tuesday as the war in the Middle East sent prices of oil soaring.
According to the Petroleum Ministry the cost of a liter of diesel, which is heavily relied on for public transport, increased by more than 17%. The price of the 92-octane gasoline rose by 15% and 95-octane gasoline increased by 14%.
The war has hit Egypt hard. The most populous Arab country, Egypt depends heavily on imported fuel. The Egyptian pound fell to a record low, trading at over 52 to the US dollar on Monday.
To mitigate impact of the war, the government announced a series of measures, including reducing official overseas trips and tightening fuel consumption across sectors.
The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said on Tuesday that the end of the war will be determined by Iran.
Spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini said in a statement published in various Iranian state media and apparently in response to Trump’s remarks Monday that “Iran will determine when the war ends.”
The U.S. president pledged aggressive action against Iran if it continues to block the shipment of oil in the Strait of Hormuz.
“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” Trump posted on social media. “Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!”
The president said his threat was a “gift” to China, among other nations, because it relies on oil from the Middle East.
Flames rise from an oil storage facility south of the capital Tehran as strikes hit the city during the U.S.–Israel military campaign, Iran, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iraqis hold a portrait of the new successor to Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei at a bridge leading to the fortified Green Zone where the U.S. embassy is located in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A coffin is carried during the funeral of mostly children killed in a strike Feb. 28 at a girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Abbas Zakeri/Mehr News Agency via AP)
This image taken from video provided by Iran state TV shows Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's slain supreme leader, who has been named as the Islamic Republic's next ruler, authorities announced Monday, March 9, 2026. (Iran state TV via AP)
