Honduras Election Official Reports Security Failures in Vote Result Transmission System
A Honduras National Electoral Council (CNE) official from the leftist Libre party reported security failures in the electronic system that transmitted results from the November 30 general election, including changes to security codes in two system modules. The official stated that the transmission system's hash values had changed and that system components had been operating for less than six days, raising questions about vote count reliability.
What happened
Marlon Ochoa, a CNE electoral counselor representing the Libre party, reported on December 7, 2025 that the electronic system transmitting results from the November 30 general election experienced security failures.
Ochoa stated that the company responsible for preliminary vote transmission acknowledged a change in the 'hash' (security code) in the results disclosure module, though it claimed the source code had not been modified.
Ochoa explained that the hash serves to verify that the vote counting software had not been altered, and a hash change indicates that something in the vote transmission system (TREP) was modified.
Ochoa found that system operation timestamps showed many components had been running for less than six days, with some operating for less than five minutes, creating uncertainty about whether the sealed systems in use were the same ones deployed during the seven-day vote count.
Reported impact
Ochoa stated that the lack of certainty about electoral cybersecurity left the CNE unable to guarantee that election records were processed by the same software designated on election day, compromising the validity of results generated by these systems.
Ochoa said the situation exposed the CNE to potential administrative, civil, and penal liabilities and called for the Prosecutor's Office to open an investigation.
Index analysis
The reported hash changes and system age inconsistencies suggest potential unauthorized modifications to the vote transmission infrastructure, though the company stated the source code itself remained unmodified.
Governance controls
Ochoa noted that irregularities discovered on December 7 were additional to those found on the preceding Thursday, indicating ongoing detection of new issues.
Ochoa cited Article 282 of the Electoral Law in proposing that the Prosecutor's Office investigate the security failures.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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