Two Maltese among team of EU observers in Honduras elections
Francesca Xerri and Rebecca Calleja arrived in the capital, Tegucigalpa, on November 22
Two Maltese nationals were among a team of 138 long- and short-term observers selected by the EU to observe the highly competitive and closely fought general elections held in Honduras on November 30, 2025.
Francesca Xerri and Rebecca Calleja arrived in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, on November 22 to take part in three days of intensive training, before being deployed to their respective areas of responsibility across the country.
On election day, Xerri and Calleja began their observation work early in the morning to observe opening procedures. They each visited more than eight voting centres to observe voting and closing procedures, as well as the counting and aggregation of results late into the night.
Due to the very narrow margins between competing parties, the counting and verification of votes continued for several weeks. Even prior to Xerri’s and Calleja’s departure from Honduras on December 3, the tabulation of results was still ongoing, underscoring the intensity and sensitivity of these elections for Honduras.
The Election Observation Mission was conducted by the EU, which also observed elections in Bolivia, Malawi, Guyana, the Philippines and Ecuador in 2025. The Election Observation Missions form part of the EU’s broader commitment to supporting democracy and human rights worldwide. Conducted only at the invitation of host countries, these missions provide a comprehensive, independent and impartial assessment of electoral processes in line with international and regional standards for democratic elections.
As with all European Union Election Observation Missions, a core team of experts carried out an in-depth analysis of the Honduran electoral environment over several months.
From early October, they met with representatives of electoral and political authorities, political parties and candidates, civil society organisations and the media, and continued to do so until their departure in late December. In parallel, 32 long-term observers were deployed across the country for about a month over the peak election period to monitor the electoral process in different regions.
This marks the fourth time the EU has conducted an Election Observation Mission in Honduras, having previously observed the general elections in 2013, 2017 and 2021.
The mission will soon produce a final report containing detailed recommendations aimed at strengthening the integrity, transparency and effectiveness of future electoral processes, which will be shared with Honduran electoral authorities and political stakeholders. As is standard practice, part of the mission will return to Honduras at a later stage to formally present its final report to Honduran counterparts.
More information can be accessed here.