By Diego Oré and Laura Garcia
TEGUCIGALPA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Honduras is expected to start a special recount on Friday to resolve tally sheet irregularities, an election official said, amid the chaotic aftermath of the still-undecided Nov. 30 presidential election that has deepened political uncertainty.
Election official Cossette Lopez-Osorio said in an interview with a local radio station on Thursday that the special recount could begin as early as Friday.
With more than 99% of ballots counted after
12 days, conservative candidate Nasry Asfura of the National Party leads by about 42,000 votes over Salvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party, while LIBRE's Rixi Moncada trails far behind in third place.
But 2,773 of the tally sheets - roughly 15% of the total - have inconsistencies that require further review. These sheets contain enough votes to sway the outcome of the election, heightening political suspense.
"I would expect that in three days we could be releasing the verifications related to the presidential (election)," Lopez-Osorio said.
On Wednesday, a Honduran congressional panel threatened to reject the results, citing an "electoral coup" and accusing U.S. President Donald Trump of interference.
The disorganized and lengthy reporting process of the results has fueled fraud accusations, including by President Xiomara Castro of the ruling LIBRE party, and Nasralla.
Washington has said it is closely monitoring the count and warned it would respond to any irregularities "swiftly and decisively."
Days before the vote, Trump urged Hondurans to support Asfura, attacked his rivals, and announced he was pardoning former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, of Asfura's National Party. Hernandez was serving a 45-year sentence in the U.S. after being convicted on drug trafficking and weapons charges.
(Reporting by Laura Garcia and Diego Ore; writing by Cassandra Garrison, Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
