Elections in Honduras

The Constitution of Honduras describes voting as universal, obligatory, equal, direct, free and secret. The main legal framework is Article 44 of the Constitution and the Electoral Law under Decree 35-2021, including reforms 41-2021, 62-2021 and 15-2026. The Consejo Nacional Electoral, known as the CNE, manages electoral administration, registration, supervision, logistics, counting and declarations. It has three principal councillors and two alternates, with five-year terms. The Tribunal de Justicia Electoral, or TJE, reviews challenges to CNE administrative decisions and is the highest electoral-justice authority except for the applicable constitutional-law exception. The Registro Nacional de las Personas, or RNP, supplies identity and civil-status data used for the electoral register. The Censo Nacional Electoral is the official voter register, and the Documento Nacional de Identificación, or DNI, is the identity document used to identify voters. PARLACEN is the Central American Parliament. Honduras holds Elecciones Primarias or internal party elections on the second Sunday of March in an election year. The CNE directs, controls and supervises them, while each party's national electoral commission supports the process. All parties hold their primaries on the same date. Their slates can include candidates for the Presidency, Congress, PARLACEN and municipal corporations. The general election takes place on the last Sunday of November before the government term ends. The CNE calls the general election six months beforehand. In the 2025 cycle, primaries took place on 9 March, the general election on 30 November, the official declaration on 30 December and publication in La Gaceta on 27 January 2026. General elections cover four levels: the President and three Designados, 20 PARLACEN representatives, 128 congressional seats and 298 Corporaciones Municipales. The President, Designados, mayors and vice-mayors are selected by the highest vote count, and the cited framework provides no presidential runoff. A single-seat congressional contest also uses the highest vote count. Multi-seat congressional contests use individual candidate marks together with departmental quotients and remaining seats. PARLACEN allocation uses the national presidential vote as its base and applies a quotient. Municipal corporations use municipal quotients and remaining seats for proportional representation. Independent candidacies are legally possible for the Presidency, congressional departmental slates and municipal formulas. Candidates who win party primaries are enrolled automatically after the call for the general election. Independent candidates enter the general election after the CNE has completed final recognition. Parties and candidates remain subject to electoral registration, campaign and financing rules and to applicable CNE and UFTF controls. Honduran citizens aged 18 or older may vote when they are included and habilitated in the Censo Nacional Electoral. Active members of the Armed Forces and security personnel do not vote. The RNP sends the CNE data on DNI issuance, deaths, corrections and domicile. Voter registration updates remain open on a permanent basis, but updates freeze 105 calendar days before primaries or general elections and resume the following day. A person who requests a DNI during the freeze cannot vote in that election. A 17-year-old who will turn 18 by election day may request a DNI until the 105-day deadline, with delivery from age 18. A domicile change is processed personally and without charge. The voter first checks the electoral record through the CNE voter register service, visits the Registro Civil Municipal, completes biometric validation and submits the form with a signature and fingerprint. The CNE publishes voter lists and resolves register complaints with the RNP. No election fee is charged to voters. On election day, voting takes place at a CNE-designated voting center from 7:00 to 17:00. A voter who is already waiting when closing time arrives may vote. The CNE may extend voting until 18:00 only when force majeure prevented the start and all JRV members agree. A Junta Receptora de Votos, or JRV, normally serves 100 to 600 electors; the CNE may authorize fewer than 100 where geographic dispersion makes access necessary. The voter presents a DNI, undergoes identity and fingerprint checks, is verified on the list, receives separate ballots for the relevant offices, marks them privately and receives indelible ink. Ballots show party symbols as well as candidate names and photographs. Authorized voting centers abroad may be used only for the presidential and Designados vote in general elections. Serving as a JRV member is a mandatory legal duty when assigned. Employees serving on a JRV receive paid leave and a paid day after the election. The JRV begins the public count after voting closes. Party delegates, national and international observers, media and citizens may attend. Presidential results are transmitted immediately after the presidential count. The CNE may disclose preliminary results through the preliminary results system known as TREP no later than three hours after closing, with continuous or periodic updates and coverage of received acts and votes. Preliminary results provide information only and do not replace the official declaration. The CNE conducts the Escrutinio General by verifying and adding the JRV closing records. It resolves inconsistencies through certified-copy comparisons and may order a special verification or recount. The CNE must declare the results within 30 days after the election, publish the declaration in La Gaceta on the following day and issue credentials. A citizen with a legitimate interest may file complaints or actions concerning electoral bodies or officials. An administrative nullity challenge against a JRV act or scrutiny must normally be filed within five calendar days in writing, stating the facts, violated provisions, evidence and an apoderado. The CNE holds an admissibility hearing within three days and decides within five days. An approved nullity can lead to a replacement election within ten days. CNE administrative decisions may be appealed to the TJE.