Honduras: Libre refuses to count the physical votes and puts democracy at risk

In a new display of authoritarianism disguised as progressive rhetoric, the Libertad y Refundación (Libre) Party of Honduras issued an unprecedented statement: they refuse to validate electronically cast votes through the Smartmatic system with physical records, despite the company's history of failures, hacks, and complaints in several countries around the world.

Using the excuse of not "debating with coup plotters or fraud operators," the far-left ruling party candidate, Rixi Moncada, made it clear that she won't allow any type of audit that involves comparing digital results with physical records, a common and logical practice in any serious democracy.

Libre prefers chaos over transparency

Far from providing certainty or opening the process to fair verification, Libre chose the path of institutional abuse. The statement, backed by Xiomara Castro, is an open threat to the minimum guarantees of the electoral system.

They oppose human oversight over voting machines, as if technological systems were infallible and not exposed—as has happened—to manipulation, software errors, or cyberattacks.

Smartmatic: questioned worldwide, untouchable for Libre

Smartmatic has been accused of irregularities in the Philippines, Venezuela, and other countries. In some cases, the company itself admitted inconsistencies in the transmitted data. Meanwhile, in Honduras, the ruling party acts as if it were a sacred and unquestionable system.

Libre not only defends opacity, but also calls for an indefinite national mobilization starting August 1, making it clear that their goal isn't to defend the vote, but to pressure institutions so that everything remains the same: obscure, manipulated, and shielded from citizen scrutiny.

Salvador Nasralla, on the wrong side again

It's no surprise that Salvador Nasralla, now in the Liberal Party but with a past of servility to Libre, silently joins this maneuver.

The former first presidential appointee, who once denounced fraud, now accommodates himself to power and turns a blind eye to the risk of falsified results. His silence makes him complicit.

Tito Asfura asks for the obvious: count the votes properly

In this scenario, Tito Asfura is one of the few leaders with common sense, demanding what any citizen should demand: that electronic votes have their physical counterpart, that there be human oversight, that records be respected, that the will of the people be guaranteed.