Honduras’ general election on Sunday (November 30) unfolded amid unprecedented mobilization of the country’s evangelical community, whose leaders said the coordinated turnout marked a historic moment for civic and spiritual engagement.
In an exclusive interview with Christian Daily International’s Spanish edition Diario Cristiano, Gerardo Ilias, president of the Evangelical Union of Honduras (CEH) and Mario Vanegas, president of the Tegucigalpa Pastors’ Association, said the vote represents a turning point in how evangelicals participate in the country’s democratic life, with the church closing its doors in favor of early and widespread voting.
At the time of publication, tallies showed that Nasri Asfullah and Salvador Nasrallah were technically tied, with a difference of just 515 votes.
For Iliad, Election Day already signified a victory for the evangelical church. “The church has played a more important role than ever before in history. The goal was to free Honduras from the left[government]so at this point we have already won,” he said.
He noted that nearly 90% of congregations closed their churches on Sundays to ensure their congregations voted. He said this decision and weeks of mental preparation had a direct impact on the close margin between the two leading candidates. Ilias argued that either finalist is acceptable as long as religious freedom and Biblical values are upheld.
When asked about the influence of outside parties, particularly US President Donald Trump’s public support for one of the candidates, Mr. Ilias remained steadfast. “That number was already set and the church was convinced without a shadow of a doubt,” he said. International messages “only give hope” and do not shape Honduran voters’ spiritual or civic decision-making, he added.
Banegas offered a similar analysis but emphasized the spiritual aspect, saying the campaign was the culmination of months of prayer and community organizing.
“We knew it was a very powerful mental battle,” he said. He explained that hundreds of congregations have coordinated prayer services starting at 2 a.m., held vigils and fasts, and built support networks. He estimated that the church had about 36,000 people at polling places, including officially accredited representatives and volunteer observers.
The goal, Banegas said, was clear: to mobilize believers to exercise their democratic rights. “We called on all churches to close their doors and vote early. 90% of churches went out,” he said.
He estimates that evangelicals represent about 2.3 million voters, and this bloc, coupled with extensive preparation and coordination, could have had a decisive influence on election trends.
Both evangelical leaders expressed caution as vote counting continued, but agreed that reconciliation must be a priority in the post-election period.
Ilias said that once an official winner is announced, evangelical leaders plan to publicly congratulate the new president “as we did for both candidates before the election.”
Banegas called for a symbolic act of unity by the defeated candidates to “raise the hands of the victor for democracy and peace in the country.”
In another analysis of the election, Pastor Roy Santos, leader of the Ministry of Manancial de la Mies, also spoke exclusively to Diario Cristiano. He described the preliminary results as more than just administrative reform, calling it a supernatural intervention aimed at saving the country.
For Santos, the Central American nation is witnessing “a great work of God’s hand in saving Honduras from the evil claws of communism.”
Santos, a leading Honduran evangelical figure, claimed the country was trapped in what he called a “perverted conspiracy” by left-wing groups that he claimed were disguised through electoral alliances to seize power in 2021.
In his assessment, the outgoing Liberal and Refund (Libre) government made serious spiritual mistakes that led to the judgment of God and the rejection of the people.
The next few hours and days will decide who will become the next president. Still, evangelical leaders say the election has already produced historic results. In other words, a faith rooted in the belief that the fate of a nation is determined at the ballot box has moved beyond the walls of the church and into the heart of the democratic process.
Under Honduran law, the National Electoral Council has up to 30 days to announce official final results.
Original text by Diario Cristiano, Spanish edition of Christian Daily International.
