The two leading candidates to be president of Honduras were locked in a “technical tie” on Monday, with a razor-thin margin separating them.
As of Monday afternoon, there were just 515 votes separating right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura from his nearest challenger, Salvador Nasralla, a former TV host standing for the country’s centrist party.
The head of the electoral commission called for “patience and prudence” while the result was tallied, but officials have not released an update since, leading to confusion and growing tensions among voters about the status of the race.
The outgoing president, Xiomara Castro of the left-wing Libre party, was barred by the constitution from standing for a second term. She backed Rixi Moncada.
Officials said turnout was expected to be strong among the 6.5m registered voters, but no official figures have yet been released.
Many Hondurans had a sense that this would not be an entirely straightforward election but few would have foreseen the vote count being this close.
The collapse of the official election website, apparently due to high traffic, has only compounded fears among voters of problems with the count.
People are keen to avoid an extended period of uncertainty or legal challenges over the result, which could be the case if the numbers remain close.
Shortly before casting their ballots, voters at a farmers’ market in Tegucigalpa spoke of their desire for change.
The website of the electoral council has also collapsed, adding to public fears about problems with the count.
